---
title: "Gender Reveal Explosion Was So Strong It Cracked Home Foundations"
description: "Police say the blast from gender reveal explosion was so powerful that it cracked the foundations of nearby homes and could be heard in a neighboring state."
date: "2021-04-24"
modified: "2021-04-24"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/gender-reveal-explosion"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "explosion"
  - "gender reveal"
  - "the digest"
---

# Gender Reveal Explosion Was So Strong It Cracked Home Foundations

![Police say the blast from gender reveal explosion was so powerful that it cracked the foundations of nearby homes and could be heard in a neighboring state.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Operation_Upshot-Knothole_-_Badger_001.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_explosion" target="\_blank"\>Wikimedia Commons\</a\>\</em\>*

## Gender Bender

New Hampshire police say that the blast from a "gender reveal" event — a party in which expecting parents dramatically reveal the anticipated gender of their baby — was so powerful that it frightened neighbors, cracked the foundations of nearby homes, and could even be heard across state lines.

"We heard this God-awful blast," neighbor Sara Taglieri [told *NBC 10 Boston*](<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/23/gender-reveal-party-using-80-pounds-of-explosives-sets-off-earthquake-reports>). "It knocked pictures off our walls... I’m all up for silliness and whatnot, but that was extreme."

## Property Damage

Taglier [confirmed to the *Washington Post*](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/23/gender-reveal-explosion-new-hampshire-tannerite/>) that the explosion had caused a crack in her home's foundation. The [*Union Leader* reported](<https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/gender-reveal-party-host-turns-himself-in-to-police-nearby-residents-complain-of-dirty-water/article_f462d799-6913-5f4d-96f2-87728b45489b.html>) that the blast was caused by 80 pounds of the explosive Tannerite was felt in a 20-mile radius and may have turned tap water brown in the area.

"We are all about celebrating happy moments like having a baby, but their celebration was felt and heard not only by different neighborhoods but through different towns," Taglieri told the *Post*. "It’s not like we are upset because there was blue or pink confetti on our yard. It was such a large blast."

The unidentified person behind the explosion has turned himself in, according to the *Union Leader*, and is cooperating with authorities.

## Baby Fever

Nobody was injured by the blast, but it comes after a wave of surreal and sometimes deadly stunts related to gender reveal parties. Last month, for instance, [two were killed](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/01/cancun-plane-genderreveal-crash-deaths/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15>) in an airplane crash related to a gender reveal event, and earlier this year [two died in an explosion](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/23/gender-reveal-explosion-new-york/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11>) at yet another gender reveal celebration.

In New Hampshire, authorities said, the baby was a boy.

**READ MORE:** [A huge explosion cracked house foundations in New Hampshire. An ‘extreme’ gender-reveal party was to blame.](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/23/gender-reveal-explosion-new-hampshire-tannerite/>) \[*The Washington Post*\]

**More on explosions:** [*Astronomers Detect Biggest Explosion Since the Big Bang*](<https://futurism.com/astronomers-detect-biggest-explosion-since-big-bang>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)