17-Year-Old Boy Built A Nuclear Reactor In His Backyard 20 Years Ago That Made The Neighborhood Radioactive

David Hahn, aka the Radioactive Boy Scout, did something extraordinary. The boy was quite fascinated with science and chemistry since his early years and did a lot of experiments. Well, who thought that someday his fun experiments would actually build a fully functioning nuclear reactor in his own backyard?! Yes, you read it right. 17-year-old David Hahn made a fully functional nuclear reactor from old clocks, lanterns, duct tape, batteries, and uranium from Czechoslovakia back in 1994 in his mom's backyard. His extraordinary story attracted a lot of attention and David was named the 'Radioactive Boy Scout.'

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This is David Hahn, the 17-year-old boy who was fascinated with science and chemistry since his childhood

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His interest grew even more after receiving the book ‘The Golden Book Of Chemistry Experiments,’ from his grandfather as a gift

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The 17-year-old boy turned his basement into a lab where he could do experiments

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But unfortunately, the family home was set on fire during one accident. So his mom decided that he should move his lab into the shed in the backyard of their house

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As a boy scout, David earned an Atomic Energy Merit Badge, which gave him the idea to build his own nuclear reactor

David contacted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission pretending to be a physics teacher and started corresponding with them

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After his project was completed, the radiation levels in the area near his house had risen dramatically. Therefore he decided to dismantle the reactor he made

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While dismantling the reactor David was stopped and arrested by the police. And the authorities cleared the backyard off all nuclear materials

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