Carbidschieten (igniting calcium carbide in a milk churn) is a popular New Year’s eve tradition in the rural areas of the Netherlands.

It seems that these days milk churns are considered too small for a decent bang, and bigger and better cannons are built. Not always with the desired effect. The following video’s were shot in Triemen in Friesland on December 31.

(Video: Youtube / Vancha112)

(Video: Youtube / Uko van der Meulen)

Both videographers have more vids of ‘carbide shooting’ on their Youtube accounts.

Kids should not try this at home.

An alderman from Oldenzaal in Twente got hit in the leg yesterday when a cannon went off near him. The third edition of the local New Year’s dive was to have been started by the alderman, Frits Rorink, firing the gun, but the device initially refused to go off. According to AD, swimmers had already taken to the water when the cannon fired after all.

Rorink was brought to a hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a broken fibula. His recovery is expected to take some time and multiple operations, according to Tubantia.

A 59-year-old man from Enschede was arrested on suspicion of a “possible connection” with the accident.

(Photo of the 2010 New Year’s dive of Scheveningen, in which so far no new models were discovered, by Alexander Fritze, some rights reserved.)