Woman learns tool she used as a hammer for 20 years is hand grenade

An elderly woman used a tool she found in her backyard to crack nuts and embed nails for 20 years. Little did she know that it was a hand grenade that could have killed her in no time if it exploded.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the 90-year-old woman from China, surnamed Qin, found an "unusual metal lump" while working on her farm in Huangbao county.

Thinking it was a hammer, Qin took it home and used it for various household tasks.

But when workers were demolishing her old home on June 23, they realized it was a hand grenade and immediately alerted the authorities.

Huangbao police sent officers and a bomb disposal unit to the scene immediately.

A now-viral video showed the grenade's wooden handle becoming smooth and glossy over years of use. Its head, meanwhile, had significant pits from repeated hammering.

A section of its fuse was also exposed, SCMP noted.

Authorities confiscated the grenade and had professionals destroy it afterward. They also conducted a safety education session among villagers.

"If you find any suspicious objects that look like hand grenades, you must report it to the police immediately," they said. "Do not touch it or use it as a hammer, or the consequences could be disastrous!”

The grenade, which didn't explode at all over two decades, sparked discussion online.

Some users believe it might be a training grenade that's identical in shape to an actual one but has no gunpowder.

For other users, meanwhile, it could "not be fake" especially since authorities confiscated it and called it "just an exceptional case."

Others also found it "impressive" that Qin didn't pull the fuse out of curiosity.

“Apparently, even hand grenades have principles and won’t explode on kind-hearted elderly people," a user is quoted as saying.