Inmate: I’m in for double murder David: I built a nuclear reactor

-Aren't you a little young to build a nuclear reactor? -Yes. Yes, I am.

Boy teaches himself chemistry, even synthesizing nitroglycerin: His Dad: you need to focus on something that is more useful, like getting boy scout badges. My dude.

I gotta admit, I admire his ambition, inventiveness, perseverance, and creativity. He is an example of "You can do anything you put your mind to."

Creates nuclear reactor in his backyard Everyone: 💤 Steals tires Everyone: 👀👀

"MOOOOM PHINEAS AND FERB ARE BUILDING A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN THE BACK YARD" "That's nice Candice"

he was a budding scientist. He should of been guided to a safe process. he had so much potential. RIP David

in a parallel universe... there is a great scientist called David Hahn

David: "look mom i build a nuclear reactor". Mom: "thats nice honey".

The real crime here is how they wasted away not cultivating the potential on David.

I am Davids cousin so I will shed a little light on a few of the inaccuracies of most the documentaries on him. Davids mother was my mothers aunt. My Grandfathers sister. My aunt patty actually suffered from Paranoid schizophrenia which david was later diagnosed with while in the Marine Corps. She had shot herself which she died from the infection. David was actually pretty average in most school subjects with the exception of Science and Chemistry. He was obsessed with the boy scouts becoming one of the few to earn the atomic badge.His end goal was to find a cure for cancer. He actually spent much of his life at our Grandmothers house in Berkley MI. David did not get in much trouble for this incident instead he went on to join the Us Navy and served honorably on the USS Enterprise. While in the navy is when he began to show signs of his disorder as everytime he came home for the holidays he became stranger and stranger. He used to say he knew something and the government was going to kill him. He even provided a video tape to my Grandpa and asked him to hide it. It mysterously dissappeared from his house while David was on active duty. After the Navy David joined the Marine Corps where he was finally placed in a facility and diagnosed with his disorder. He continued being monitored by law enforcement local and federal as he continued his habbits of stealing smoke detectors to extract the materials. David was sadly found dead in a walmart bathroom and the family will miss him. On a side note he was very normal growing up. Also one of the ways David originally found radioactive materials is he had made a detection device when he was a teen.

9:58 lmao "he wasn't stealing tires, he was just loading a nuclear reactor into his trunk."

Everyone: “Hey aren’t you a bit young to be ordering radioactive material?” David: “Yes, yes I am”

Sometimes I’m worried the government is tracking everything I do but then remember a 14 year old bought uranium from Czechoslovakia and I relax a bit

As a Eagle, Class of 1973, I admire what David wanted to do..create energy ...he should have had guidance with this project...he and the entire family were fortunate, no one got sick or were injured...Again, the idea and the motivation of David was very admirable...he needed a college professor as a mentor...bless his heart !!

They shouldn’t have made him a criminal, but encouraged him to study in a safe manner. He was a brilliant and talented child, who could have made important discoveries. Truly tragic.

David: *Creates a nuclear reactor in his backyard* Also David: *Hits a pile of red phosphorus with a hammer like a goddamn caveman*

Tragic, he could have been a good scientist and contributed to the world with a little guidance from any of the adults in his life. They truly failed him .

“Mooooooooom! David is building a nuclear reactor in the potting shed!”

Kid deserves all the credit in the world. Unfortunately all the adults in his life weren't competent enough to guide him.

* Survives high levels of radioactivity * * *Dies of Alcohol poisoning* *

He earned that badge, because NOBODY knew what the hell he was talking about.

What’s even sadder is the fact that his mom and her boyfriend were proud of his work ethic and probably thought that he was working on something really fascinating and wonderful… But never to this scale… And they could’ve put a stop to it if they had checked in on him

If this kid had been recognized, we might have unlimited power by now.

David sounded like a genius who didn’t receive any guidance for his intelligence. It’s sad what happened to him.

“Are you too young to be buying radioactive products?” “Why yes, yes i am.”

“ One day we’re gonna run out of oil “ this kid only wanted to help

This kid was incredibly smart. Such a shame he was never given a platform to show his intelligence

“Guys trust me, I didn’t steel a tire, I was putting a nuclear reactor in my truck” Police:”oh..........wait”

14 years old Kid: builds a nuclear reactor Me 15 years old: struggles in simple math

Love how fixated he is on no one asking questions back then. Was a normal thing back in the 80s and early 90s, heck you used to be able to by uranium kits back in the 60s and 70s

I actually didn’t know it was illegal to build a nuclear reactor in your back yard but, then again, I’ve never though about building a nuclear reactor in my back yard.

That’s some Tony Stark shit right there “Built a nuclear reactor out of household items in his backyard when he was 17”

Ignoring small explosions and chemical spills in their son's room lol The great lottery gives them a genius kid and they basically neglect him

Still no adults have stepped in, best line ever

He was a genius, purely self taught, off the chain, precious. AND THE NEGLECT of any adult recognizing or fostering & mentoring that GIFT....such a waste. So brilliant.

In the old days, the government would have hired him.

Damn I can't believe he really made Chernobyl Pocket Edition just like that.

Near to me there is a site of an old chemical company that was shut down. The clean up took years and several feet of earth was removed and then new dirt was brought in and piled up nearly 20' over the site. About a decade later the town decided it would be a great place to build their new soccer fields.

The sorrow is the kid was a genius and too smart for the adults around him to help him direct it.

if he had the proper guidance he seems like the type who could have made some real breakthroughs, it’s a shame no one saw his raw talent and directed him accordingly.

"Nerds " : " David , look what happens when we put mentos in a soda bottle." David : " Hold my beaker ."

This happened in 1993. Hahn was 10 in 1986. There wasn’t anything unusual AT ALL for a kid in the 70s and 80s to have a real science kit with dangerous or even radioactive chemicals, Bunsen burners, real beakers, etc. He built a really remarkable lab for himself. I had a kit like that and loved it. I went on to be very successful in the sciences. It’s really sad that this kid didn’t have any mentors even tho he did have encouragement. Seems like the adults in his life weren’t very present or stable. A really remarkable mind. Weird history you don’t really seem to know much about history in context.

This actually gives me hope for humanity. To me, the worst case scenario for the human species is young people turning into TikTok addicts and destroying their ability to concentrate. David is a driven, determined genius. We need more like him. Yeah I get that radiation is scary but being alive is scary. If you want to experience terrible sickness and have a messy, horrific death, just be born, it'll happen guaranteed.

It's kind of sad when you think about it. With just a little moderation from superiors, his guy could've changed the world.

“This was David freakin Hahn, he was an Eagle Scout”

He definitely was awarded the “glowing Boy Scout” badge.

“Or they had partial meltdowns” Me too... me too.

"This is David Freakin Hahn, he's an eagle scout" 😂

This dude had Chernobyl in his backyard

Man, that's heartbreaking. Sounds like the kid was a genius with good intentions...but needed WAY more guidance and supervision. Sounds like there were so many red flags.

This is so crazy to me that you made a video about this. When I was born, my parents bought the house directly behind his and my mom remembers that day so clearly!

1990s: *builds a nuclear reactor in his mom's backyard.* 2016: *dies of alcohol poisoning.*

"David built a nuclear reactor out of common household items" *buys uranium from Czechoslovakia.*

“Everyone is just winging it” truer words have never been spoken.

I think he could have become brilliant if he was given mentor figures to help with safety and direction.

It could have been worse. He could have been smoking marijuana.

_"I am limited by the technology of my time"_ -David Hanh

I have a Atomic Energy Badge when I was in Boy Scouts back in the 90s. I Made it to Eagle Scouts but, I basically Retired from Scouts in early 2000s.

Let this be a Lesson if your child shows interest in something and or potential...Guide them. Help them to grow and prosper. the world needs more creators.

Why do you paint him like a bad guy? The guy was a loose genius

Friend: YOU CAN’T MAKE A GODDAMN NUCLEAR REACTOR AS A TEENAGER Him: hold my caprisun

"And a few more adults would have to not ask any more questions" That deserves an award, it should be in the Lexicon of every language and culture

Son: *doesen’t do homework* Mom: “YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR 3 WEEKS LITTLE TIMMY! *Sigh* I wish I had a better son.” Son: *Creates nuclear reactor on her backyard* Mom: “Who cares?”

Father: what are you working on, Son: the Manhattan Project

If any adult would've seen his potential he could've been something big

Another lesson from this is always check in on your kids and their activities/interests and put a stop to it if it’s dangerous or getting out of hand as his parents should have in the very first place.

I wonder if his parents ever took him to see Santa near Christmas “What presents do you want this year David?” “Uranium”

the "kid" took action and dismantled his makeshift reactor as soon as he realized it was dangerous.the so called "adults" waited months before they took action and clean up the site, because they didn't feel responsible. now tell me who is the one to blame?

How hard would it have been to just put David in a few AP Chemistry courses, maybe find a nuclear research program at a nearby university, and give him the safety-minded guidance he needed?

"Son, if you're going to make destructive materials that are a threat to the safety of others, please do it out of sight and in the basement."

I find the saddest part of his story in being, he ended up dying of an overdose combo of alcohol and fentanyl in Sep of 2016, at the age of 39. Such a waste of such a smart person. He could have done so much with his life. At the very least, he could have had one hell of an interesting KZfaq channel, if he was still around.

Marty McFly: “You don’t just walk into a store and buy plutonium.” David: “Hold my merit badges.”

A person like David is an absolute gift to the world and he reminds me very much of when my father was a child. It's heartbreaking he didn't have the right guidance and idiot/neglectful parents.

This guy is very inspirational ngl

this should be a movie

Stealing Tires from cars David: no I’m loading my nuclear reactor into my car

"The Police Were Called Because People Thought He Was Stealing Tyres" He Wasn't... *"He Was Simply Loading A Nuclear Reactor Into His Own Car"*

"They thought he was stealing tires from cars" *nope just a nuclear reactor*

David Hahn: * could’ve died various times from chemical explosions and radioactive elements * David Hahn: actually dies of alcohol poisoning

He joined the navy after the scandal and was stationed on the USS ENTERPRISE, the first nuclear powered carrier, if that’s not a coincidence I don’t know what it.

2:07 at this point they should’ve seen the potential he had. A genius, he could’ve been working for Lockheed Martin, NASA or the military, I mean this is a boy doing this kind of stuff. Imagine what kind of amazing work he could’ve done if his parents or teachers put him through one of these corporations. He’d could’ve made inventions, solved problems, people like these are weird, but we call it weird because we’re too stupid to understand their intelligence, and the gifts they have. It’s sad what he went through.

I completely ignored the dangerous aspects to this story, because ya’ll made it hilarious.

David: *dies of overexposure to radioactive substances* His mom: "Its that damn phone!"

Book: Don’t do this at home David: makes a nuclear reactor in his backyard

A+ video! LOVE IT! He has some real Boy Scout qualities!

Fact that a kid started this it goes to show how easy it is to make a nuclear reactor or weapon

If he was guided in the right path he would have had such potential.

You dont "take away" something that a kid is good at, you supervise and ensure their safety, Nurture them like good parents.

i have not laughed this hard in a while from a youtube video. the amount of shade this narrator throws is SO FUNNY. Im cracking up at the parent jokes. This was comedy. The phone call to czeck slovakia KILLED me. (sorry if i spelt that wrong)

The world needs more people like David, focused and dedicated to solving a common problem. RIP DAVID... CONTINUE TO INSPIRE

He almost made Chernobyl Lite

"All of that along with some uranium he had ordered from Czechoslovakia over the phone because why the hell wouldn't that be possible"

Me: mommy can I buy a wine bottle in my birthday? Mum: No!! You're underage Me: but this kid bought uranium and radioactive materials

I like how both his mom and dad worked for general motors. Welcome to Michigan!

8:34 "Some Uranium he had ordered from Czechoslovakia over the phone, because why the hell wouldn't THAT be possible." XD

The real issue is ordering uranium from Czechoslovakia over the phone, and actually getting it.

Kid: Hey mum! I made nitroglycerine! Want to watch me blow up my bedside table? Mum: oh thats nice son, so clever

I admire his consistency!

2018: I'm bored, ima go play fortnite 1990s: *I'm GoNNa BUilD A nUcLEar ReACtOr*