Gender Reveal Party Used 80 Pounds Of Explosives, Shakes Entire Towns In Two States

It’s a boy.

In this frame grab from a April 23, 2017, video provided by the U.S. Forest Service, is a gender reveal event in the Santa Rita Mountain's foothills, more than 40 miles southeast of Tucson, Ariz. The explosion from the reveal ignited the 47,000-acre Sawmill Fire. A recent gender reveal party in New Hampshire used 80 pounds of explosives to make the big announcement. | U.S. Forest Service via AP
In this frame grab from a April 23, 2017, video provided by the U.S. Forest Service, is a gender reveal event in the Santa Rita Mountain's foothills, more than 40 miles southeast of Tucson, Ariz. The explosion from the reveal ignited the 47,000-acre Sawmill Fire. A recent gender reveal party in New Hampshire used 80 pounds of explosives to make the big announcement. | U.S. Forest Service via AP

An explosive gender reveal display has shaken a New Hampshire town and its surrounding community (literally).

With a reported 80 pounds of chemical substances, party hosts recognized a growing family, while unassuming people in the orbit of the blast have since given interviews to multiple news outlets.   

Residents in Kingston, New Hampshire and nearby areas felt the effects of a massive blast on Tuesday, which multiple reports attributed to a gender reveal party. The explosion reportedly shook houses and buildings up to 20 miles away in parts of southeastern New Hampshire and neighboring Massachusetts. Some residents told local outlets it sounded like a bomb. 

Turns out, it’s a boy. 

The explosion came from a quarry located in Kingston. Police told the New Hampshire Union Leader that a man detonated 80 pounds of Tannerite — an explosive that’s available for purchase over-the-counter. The man added in blue chalk for the big reveal.

Authorities told Union Leader that 80 pounds of Tannerite is enough to cause “substantial damage” to a house. According to multiple reports,  the party hosts said they chose the quarry because they felt it would be a “safe location” for the explosion.

“It was just a big boom and crack, it was very loud,” Kingston resident Tina Bouraphael told WBZ. “It just shook my whole porch.” 

One local resident who lives about two miles away from the quarry told Union Leader her tap water has since turned brown. Other residents reported cracks in the foundations of their homes.

According to multiple reports, the person who bought the explosives turned himself into police. No charges have been filed yet as police continue to investigate.

Over-the-top gender reveal parties have become common in recent years, with some turning dangerous. A father-to-be in New York died in February after a device for a gender reveal party exploded. Another gender reveal party in September 2020 started a forest fire in California that burned for more than 7,000 acres.