Here is the door jamb sticker I was talking about. ( in first post )

ACHTUNG! VERFALLDATUM: Anyone?

does anyone know if it's against the law to discharge these old airbags?... you know, like in your backyard or something?..... (hypothetical, of course)

Was the airbag off the car, and he was intentionally hooking it up to power? If it was on the car, was the red SRS plug in the passenger footwell disconnected?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XzgwmMqHtg

I've never seen a law against it. Be sure to attach the test bag to a heavy object so it isn't propelled across the yard.

There is even a procedure and a special tool, , ,Deployment tool ( 07HAZ-SG00500)

Airbag Disposal

In the Russian case, the heavy object is a dumb-ass mechanic.

The bigger question is would you want it to deploy? The shrapnel issue from Takata airbags was due to corrosion, it just seemed to be happening prematurely in them. A 30 year old bag, I'd not want to be anywhere near if it deployed.

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1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

From what I've read, Takata used a propellant that would absorb moisture and become much stronger when fired, this would shatter the canister.

Other / older bags used a different propellant that apparently does not get stronger with moisture.

A friends father was involved in designing the first airbags and when I ask him about replacing out of date airbags he smiled and told me to keep the old ones because they're a lot of fun.
They would play with them and play tricks on people like rigging one to their office chair, he said with a big smile on his face.