Judas belt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

A Judas belt consists of a number of small explosive rounds, each one typically 2" long and 1/2" in diameter, arranged sequentially along a common fuse. The belt is either laid out on the ground or suspended from a tree or wall, and the end of the fuse is lit. As the fuse burns, it ignites each of the explosives in turn at a rate of up to 1000 rounds per minute.

The noise produced is similar to that of a machine gun, but slightly irregular due to the inherent differences between the rounds.

While belts of up to ten thousand rounds have been known, typical ones contain only two to three hundred.

A popular firecracker in the Philippines during the New Year celebrations, it is known as Sinturon ni Hudas (Belt/cincture of Judas).

[edit] Safety

Due to the proximity of the individual rounds, it is possible (and common) for an unexploded round to be thrown some distance by the explosive force of the adjacent one, before exploding itself. This unpredictable nature makes the Judas belt more dangerous than it seems.

[edit] References

• "The longest firecracker belt is found in Dagupan, Pangasinan"
• Maligayang Bagong Taon!