http://chicago.cbslocal.com/...a-mystery-18-hours-later/

Nuts!

OOPS

Well, I've done a couple of pipeline explosions and studied several others, the aerial imagery is not consistent with a pipeline or mainline gas line explosion. It looks to be centered on one of the houses, not on the street or right-of-way. Could have been a big gas leak at a house, a fluke household explosion (storing brake fluid, bleach, and a can of coleman fuel too close together), or something nefarious.

If I were betting, I'd say it was a household gas leak. But hell, it could be anything. When my grandpa died we found about 20 lbs of old dynamite and blasting caps in his barn that he'd used for stump removal in the 1950's. Who knows whats in peoples basements.

Meth

Geez archaic! Whatever it was it was powerful. It damaged a lot of homes in a pretty big area.

To me I tend to think it was an explosive of some sort other than gas, but could have been a gas leak. Would of had to be a lot of gas built up in that house I'd think.

Thats kind of what I'm thinking though, the first cold snap of the year, all the windows and doors shut tight, everybody snug in bed. Properly mixed, a few hundred cubic feet of gas is pretty powerful.

I just did a little math, a typical small room can hold enough natural gas to equate to about 8 lbs of TNT (under ideal conditions).

Damn, makes me wish I had all electric heat in my house!

i'd rather risk explosion than cook on an electric range

/extreme

excessive flatulence from obese people who ate too much? might have to start fining people for being a fire hazard. wonder if anybody has done a study on the amount of methane that 1 person can produce per hour.

no need for bombs, just fill house with gas and throw match and ...

Just a little update, looks like foul play.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...-20121120,0,1679248.story

Look at the last line of that last article, stating that there is a "two fold, two layer" thing the owners have to deal with.
Talk about being vague on purpose.

Sounds like they're making a claim about the 12 year old daughter, doesn't it?

meh I call some bullfluff. I read a theory on something better that caused it. I won't elaborate though :P

mARTIAN blew it up cause he couldn't land his ufo there. :P