Featured Video Hide Over the last several years, gender reveal parties have increased in both popularity and intricacy. Balloons filled with confetti are apparently a thing of the past; cannons and pipe bombs are the modern ways to reveal a new addition to the family. These creative and often dangerous devices have resulted in numerous injuries and deaths. Advertisement Hide Pekny, who lived in upstate New York, was working on an unspecified device for his child’s gender reveal party when it exploded, according to authorities. Police responded to reports of an explosion just before noon on Sunday at Pekny’s home. State police are working with the bomb disposal unit to investigate the explosion, which killed Pekny and injured his 27-year-old brother, Michael.