Man Arrested After Caught Trying to Split Atoms in His Home as a Hobby

Swedish man Richard Handl, 31, was arrested for trying to split atoms in his kitchen. It is unclear if he was trying to create the perfect woman because he was lonely, who would then teach him a valuable lesson in the end. Handl said that he had the elements radium, americium and uranium — all of which radioactive — in his southern Sweden apartment when police showed up and arrested him for possession of unauthorized possession of nuclear material.

Handl claims that he had been trying to set up a nuclear reactor in his home for months, but didn’t realize it might be illegal, at which point he sent an inquiry to Sweden’s Radiation Authority, who responded by sending the police. Handl’s reasoning for the experiments? He has always been interested in physics and chemistry, and wanted to see if splitting atoms would be possible at home. The police didn’t detect dangerous levels of radiation, but Handl realizes the experiment probably wasn’t the best idea. If convicted, Handl could face fines or up to two years in jail.

(Associated Press via Felicia Day)