A gender reveal party has left five people dead and three more seriously injured.
The party which was intended to surprise expectant parents with the knowledge of which set of stereotypes they would be enforcing on their unborn offspring, was to end with an explosive reveal. In this case, a pipe bomb was used. Yes, an actual pipe bomb. But it was meant to be the beginning of a silly Rube Goldberg device wherein one piece affects another piece and so on, causing a chain reaction.
One surviving partygoer explained, “the pipe bomb would be set off by the mother-to-be, and the explosion would send shrapnel into a canister containing some coloured gas. With shrapnel lodged in it, the gas would start hissing out of it and if it were blue, that means the kid is gonna be a boy. The father said the canister provider did not have pink gas, so it was decided that if the gas were orange, the kid would be a girl. The fact that he mentioned this to us, made me think for sure the kid was a girl. Why bring it up otherwise right? If it’s not going to be orange, we wouldn’t need any explanation. Anyway, the gas was blue. What was the point?”
They also mentioned bets that were made. Many expressed bitterness at the father-to-be for mentioning the orange gas as many like the partygoer we spoke to, made their gambling decisions based on this extra piece of information.
Money was lost. And also lives.
Unbeknownst to everyone involved, a pipe bomb is not as sophisticated when it comes to shrapnel distribution. Rather than hitting just its target, sharp bits, and pieces were sent in all directions. A nightmare ensued, with deaths among guests. The parents in question are healthy but the guilt will hang around their necks as they paint their baby’s room blue.
When asked if they had any immediate regrets, the couple stated that they wanted a big boom and a gender reveal as they are surrounded by loved ones. All of that happened.
The Ipe Collection 