Have you ever mistaken a Civil-War era cannonball for a Civil War-era landmine? Well, Matt Bell initially made that mistake while excavating in the area of Danville, Arkansas. According to the Sentinel-Record, Bell thought he happened upon a time-worn cannonball. However, after closer inspection by an expert, Bell learned otherwise.
Not only was it a landmine left over from the American Civil War, but thanks to how well-preserved the item apparently was, there was the possibility that it was still active. Yes, you read that correctly: A landmine planted sometime in the mid-19th century still had the potential to blow everything and everyone around it sky-high.
If that's not enough to turn one's hair white, the member of Matt Bell's excavation crew that discovered and dug up the landmine (but had no idea it was a potentially active landmine) tossed the item several feet -- because he assumed it was harmless.
