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Metal Rod 'Explodes' After Woman Opens Amazon Package

SALEM (CBS) - When Tammy Rosenblatt went to her mailbox Tuesday, she found a large envelope from Amazon but she hadn't ordered anything.

Once inside, she found the envelope was already open and the contents were open as well. Then there was a small plastic bag with a three inch cylindrical piece of metal inside.

Amazon rod
Tip of 3 foot rod that "exploded" out of Amazon package (WBZ-TV)

When Tammy opened the baggie, it virtually "exploded" into a longer rod. She said it sounded like a gunshot.

"It pretty much exploded into a three foot rod and this is some sort of metal or aluminum," she explained.

The rod had been compressed from almost three feet down to three inches.

Amazon rod
Tammy Rosenblatt holding 3-foot metal rod that "exploded" out of Amazon package (WBZ-TV)

Rosenblatt said she is lucky she wasn't looking at the bag when she opened it.

"If I were looking at it, it would have surely damaged my face, or gone into my eye," said Rosenblatt.

She's tried contacting Amazon, but had no luck. And even though the U.S. Postal Service delivered it, a trip to her local post office on the North Shore gave her no answers.

She isn't sure what the purpose of the package was, but she plans to contact the state Attorney General's Office and then federal postal inspectors.

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