Between bravery and recklessness lies a fine line.
A man in east China's Nanjing city, Jiangsu Province, tiptoed along it after seeing an old unexploded shell being dug out at the construction site at which he worked. He was "so excited" that he decided to mark the moment by holding what could still be an active explosive for a photo.
The bomb was unearthed on Tuesday afternoon in the city's busy Gulou District, Jiangsu TV reported, and the local authority is still to confirm whether the device remains active.
According to an initial police investigation, the shell, "severely eroded on the surface", is about 30 cm long, 10 cm wide. The investigators believe it is likely a leftover from the second world war, during which China mounted resistance against the Japanese invasion.
The discovery thrilled a security member on site, who claimed he used to serve in the military forces and "had gained some knowledge about weapons." Overcome by excitement, the guard jumped at the opportunity of close contact with the potentially deadly device, smiling for the camera while holding the bomb at both ends.
Nanjing was the then Republic of China's capital city before being bombed, besieged and eventually seized by the advancing Japanese army in 1939, which led to the horrifying massacre of around 300,000 people.
