Patters at the bottom of the page:
http://jmsoler.free.fr/didacticiel/blender/tutor/cpl_meshexplosion.htm a few shoots:
http://cobalt3d.free.fr/images_3dblender/animations/explosion1pattern.AVI
http://cobalt3d.free.fr/images_3dblender/animations/explosion2pattern.AVI
http://cobalt3d.free.fr/images_3dblender/animations/explosion3pattern.AVI
Wow! I know they are only short, but the .avi tests are stunning.
Very, very cool stuff jms.
It needs some kind of randon value though. Too symetrical and even.
BgDM
yeah. i use 3ds max most of the time, and they have an effect called shatter (i know it is not in blender) where you can choose to have the pieces randomly rotate
Sweet!
jms this script is looking really good, great work so far.
Ken 
With a bit of randomness and the beginning of the floor
http://cobalt3d.free.fr/images_3dblender/animations/explosion4pattern.AVI
hhhmmm i must say it looks awesome but when it hits the floor it looks as if it folds?
To me an explosion happens much faster but maybe you don’t want it that way besides that it looks pretty cool.
Yeah, when it hits the floor, it should kindof bounce… Anyway, that looks COOL! It would be really awesome if there were millions of polys… :o
jms
Do you actually sleep :o .
I like the addition of the floor, its looking really cool, I get the feeling that you really love programming (or an addiction maybe ).
Well done for all you contribute.
Ken
That is more like it. Fantastic stuff jms.
BgDM
this is really neat stuff - is it going to be a new effect?
beter relation between faces and floor:
http://cobalt3d.free.fr/images_3dblender/animations/explosion5pattern.AVI
Just a blender python script .
[edit]
WOW! I think the version where the monkey was more “falling apart” rather than exploding was better, though. Are you going to make it so people can change settings in the script?
This is great! The interaction with the floor makes it look like their falling into clear superglue, but I can just see a glass monkey getting a bullet in the head and shattering. 
The rotation is great. Lets see a faster one, and is the link to the script updated to this rotating version?
much better, although some of the peices not moving at all looks a little strange.
very nice work