This chair is the work of Alexander Reh. The meat of the chair consists of 450 .12 gauge shotgun shells. The brass ends of the shells supposedly create a massaging texture. Maybe I am not enough of a contemporary design-aficionado, but I'd rather sit on some cheap padded faux leather than lethal shotgun shells any day of the week. At least it looks pretty sweet.
Fully Loaded [Yanko Design]
DISCUSSION
I know this is old news, but as a reloader, I can't help myself.
First comes the Primer; It sits in the center of the brass, and creates a "mini explosion" that ignites the powder that comes next. Next comes the wadding, which is plastic, and acts as a piston, by giving the powder compression. The wadding is actually the weakest link. The wadding also separates the powder and the shot (lead) by about an inch. There are 2 reasons for this; to keep the lead from melting and to be a shock absorber, by collapsing, in order to keep the shot from "flattening out."
If the shell is low-brass, the the she'll will blow in 2 halves, as the plastic near the brass, in the powder area fails. The lead end falls on the floor, while the hot brass burns & scratches your ass, You'll need band-aids.
If the shell is high-brass, LOOK OUT! The shell will fire, but since the lead outweighs the brass, by up to 25:1, the shot hits the floor with minimal force, while the brass becomes the projectile. You'll get Enima of hot brass at the rate of 1000 - 1600 feet per second. You'll need a doctor or a mortician.
This chair looks like it uses high-brass shells.
You'll also have to press the primer with a hard object to set it off, such as keys or a screwdriver in your pocket.
Also, the shells don't "go bad" with age. They get more powerful and become less stable.
I would love to see Mythbusters give it a try though.