Nope, that's not a headline from The Onion. POGO has just learned that researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory accidentally blew a building apart a few weeks ago with a massive gun that acts like a Civil War cannon. From our press release:

According to a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Occurrence Report, "Shock and Detonation Physics Group researchers heard a loud unusual noise from Technical Area 15, Building 562 after firing a shot from a large-bore powder gun (LBPG)." The researchers accidentally blew a building apart at Technical Area-15, on December 16, 2009 while testing a gun which acts like a Civil War cannon.

While no one was hurt, sources advise POGO that there was over $3 million in damage to property. The explosion blew the doors off the building -- which is described in the report as, "two doors were propelled off the facility."

The Facility Operations Director "declared a management concern due to the significant facility structural damage incurred resultant of the shot." Parts of the cannon were found outside the building.

"I must say that this is a new twist in the long history of screw-ups by Los Alamos," said POGO's Senior Investigator, Peter Stockton. “I have no idea in the world why they have a gun like this, let alone testing it.”

To learn more about this long history of screw-ups, check out POGO's LANL investigations. Of course, our past investigations have been concerned about security threats to the nuclear labs coming from outsiders.

-- Peter Stockton

As Danielle says, it's been one heck of a year over here at POGO.  We covered a lot of ground and are proud of our accomplishments, but we wouldn't have been able to make it without you.

Thank you for reading, for commenting, for forwarding, for retweeting, for calling your Congressman, for providing insights, encouragement and critiques; for responding to surveys, for participating in seminars, for attending screenings, and for your interest.

In case you were wondering, POGO does indeed rely on individuals like you for funding -- we don't accept contributions from the government, from corporations, or from anyone with a financial interest in our investigations.  So if what we do around here resonates with you, please consider donating. Even a small donation can go a long way in our fight to expose government waste, fraud, and abuse, and find solutions to build a better government for all of us.

-- Bryan Rahija

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