Gas Cylinders Sleeping Giants

I am a sleeping giant. I weigh 175 pounds when full. I come in various colors, green, yellow, black, etc.

I am pressurized at 2216 pounds per square inch (psi). I wear a protective cap when not in use.

I wear valves, gauges, and hoses when at work.

I transform stacks of material into buildings, process plants, and many other things when properly used.

I am ruthless and deadly in the hands of the careless or uninformed.

I am too frequently left standing alone on my small base, my cap removed or lost by an unthinking worker. Now I am ready to be toppled over, and if my naked valve is snapped off -- all my power can be unleashed through an opening no larger than a lead pencil.

I have spectacular capabilities -- here are a few of them: I have been known to jet away faster than a dragster.

I can smash through brick walls with the greatest of ease.

I can fly through the air and reach distances of half a mile. I spin, ricochet, crash and slash all those in my path.

I scoff at the puny efforts of human flesh, bone and muscle that try to change my erratic direction.

I can, under certain conditions, rupture or explode -- you read of these exploits in the newspapers.

You can be my master -- but only under my terms - full or empty, see to it that my cap is on, straight and snug. Never, repeat, NEVER leave me standing alone. Keep me secure in a rack, cart, or tie me so I cannot fall.

TREAT ME WITH RESPECT -- I AM A SLEEPING GIANT.

COMPRESSED GAS CYLINDERS SHALL BE SECURED IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION AT ALL TIMES, EXCEPT FOR SHORT PERIODS, WHEN CYLINDERS ARE ACTUALLY BEING HOISTED OR CARRIED