Monty Python's "Holy Hand Grenade" sparks bomb scare

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

A bomb scare was sparked after someone mistook a replica bomb from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail for a real bomb.

A member of the water board discovered what they described as a "suspicious object" under a fire hydrant cover at the junction between Tabernacle Street and Epworth Street in Finsbury, London. The police, the fire brigade, and bomb disposal officers were called to destroy the bomb, only to discover it was a replica of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

In the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table use the Holy Hand Grenade to kill the deadly Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog.

One eye-witness, pub landlord Alberto Romanelli, said: "It was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. The bomb squad were here. They evacuated the pub while they were doing X-rays and stuff. It all lasted about 45 minutes before they decided it was nothing — which I thought was pretty obvious from the start. I lost a good hour's worth of business."

Former member of Monty Python and star of the film Michael Palin humorously commented on the incident saying: "Our Holy Hand Grenade was fictional and there were no plans for creation. We don't want to add to the armaments of the world."

Sources

• "Comedy film 'prop' sparks bomb scare" – Islington Gazette, March 19, 2009
• "Call the bomb squad! It's a holy hand grenade" – Chortle.co.uk, March 19, 2009
• Tony Bassett "Pub is closed by Monty Python grenade" – Evening Standard, March 19, 2009
  

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