HOW STUFF WORKS

Fresh off of their selection as Time Magazine's choice for "Best Informational Website," Howstuffworks.com has archived a thoroughly researched feature on How Building Implosions Work.

The interactive article, which was a collaborative effort between howstuffworks.com writer Tom Harris, implosionworld.com's Brent Blanchard and several other industry experts, has been widely praised as one of the most comprehensive, informative - and accurate - studies into what it takes to "implode" a building.

Click here to read the article.

DISCOVERY UK FINISHES ‘DETONATORS’ SERIES

The Discovery Channel-UK recently finished location shooting for the final installment of their 7-part series The Detonators. The documentary segment will profile the explosive demolition of a 600-foot 19th century viaduct completed by Coleman & Company in March of this year.

An interesting sub-plot: This rural demolition occurred during the height of England’s recent hoof-and-mouth epidemic, requiring unusual and extreme precautions.

The program is scheduled air across Europe in August 2001, and a US broadcast could occur later in the year.

NBC'S DATELINE / DISCOVERY TO AIR DEMOLITION DOCUMENTARY

Dateline / Discovery News is currently producing a one-hour demolition documentary that will feature the work of several internationally-renowned blasting firms, and culminate with the demolition of the Mir Space Station as scientists attempt to safely guide it down to earth. The unusual documentary recently tracked explosive demolition projects in Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Blackburn, England, as they endeavored to profile a diverse cross-section of firms working in the structural blasting industry. The program will also feature a look back at several of the industry's most challenging projects over the past few years.

This documentary is tentatively scheduled to air on the United States Discovery Channel March 9, 2001.

THREE RIVERS STADIUM TO BE FEATURED ON 'THE LEARNING CHANNEL'

CBS Productions is putting the finishing touches on a one-hour documentary featuring the recent implosion of Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. It is reported that the New York-based production company struck a deal to be granted exclusive access to the blast zone and an interview with the blaster.

The air date for this program is tentatively set for Spring 2001.

IMPLOSION TO BE FEATURED IN NEW BRAD PITT / ROBERT REDFORD MOVIE

Filming is currently taking place in Casablanca, London and other parts of the world for the action-thriller Spy Game, starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford.

The $90 million film features a scene in which Brad Pitt's character crosses paths with a suicide bomber. This past January, Controlled Demolition Group, Yorkshire, UK was contracted to demolish a 5-story apartment building for the scene.

Director Tony Scott's request was a little unusual; Because the blast was supposedly the result of a terrorist act, CDG Blaster Charles Moran was asked to bring down only the front half of the structure in a jagged, somewhat serrated fashion. After meticulous planning and preparation, the blast was performed perfectly, and no damage was sustained by adjacent structures located less than 40 feet away.

Spy Game is scheduled for release in November 2001.

DISCOVERY-CANADA DOCUMENTARY TO AIR FEBRUARY 9th

The Discovery Channel / Canada will be airing a special demolition segment of it's Frontiers of Construction series on February 9, 2001. The program will be broadcast in the United States soon thereafter.

The one-hour documentary will feature a variety of blasting applications such as roadwork, quarries and mines. The program finishes by tracking Tulsa Oklahoma-based Dykon Blasting and Protec Documentation Services through the implosion of the Commerce Center complex in St. Louis, Missouri.

CBS-TV's NASH BRIDGES FEATURES BUILDING IMPLOSION

Tired of the same old implosion documentaries on TV? Well there's an unusually 'entertaining' look at the industry airing on November 23rd, 2000, when a new episode of Nash Bridges features Don Johnson and Cheech Marin trapped in the basement of a building as the demolition crew counts down.

Implosionworld.com producers recently worked with Don Johnson Productions in creating a surreal 'implosion' atmosphere set in Hollywood, California (although the featured blast actually occurred a few years ago in Galveston, Texas).

Implosion aficionados will likely find several 'irregularities' throughout the sequence, but it's all in the name of fun, and the special effects are certainly worth checking out (see below). Let us know what you think!