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Kent (WA) Man Killed By Exploding Lava Lamp
KOMO TV News (Seattle, WA) ^ | 11/30/04 | Kevin Reese

Posted on 11/30/2004 4:57:24 AM PST by scooter2

KENT - "Philip has been a kid who tinkers with things ever since he was little," a grieving Claudia Quinn told KOMO 4 News Monday night after her son's bizarre and tragic death.

Sunday, 24-year-old Philip Quinn was tinkering with a lava lamp at his home in Kent. His girlfriend and his parents became worried when they couldn't find him and couldn't get him to answer his phone.

Claudia and Bill Quinn drove from their home in Auburn to check on their youngest son. They thought maybe he'd just overslept. They were devastated by what they found.

"I looked around the corner and saw his body slumped there in the corner and just couldn't believe what I saw," said Quinn's father.

"There was glass from the kitchen clear to the living room," his mom told us. "They said it appeared that a piece of glass punctured his heart."

Philip, in a fatal act of experimentation, had placed a lava lamp on the kitchen stove. When used properly and heated only by a small lightbulb, 40 watts in most cases, a lava lamp is essentially harmless: a mix of wax or oil and water sealed in a glass bottle with a small air space at the top of the bottle to allow for the liquid to expand under heat.

"It wasn't bubbling fast enough for him," his mom guesses. "Because when we walked in the stove was on at the lowest setting."

Even at the lowest setting the amount of heat was too much. As Philip watched the lava lamp on his stove the pressure began to build too much and too fast until it essentially exploded like a grenade, showering him with glass and sending a large shard deep into his chest.

He was found just a few feet away from the stove. He bled to death and never had a chance to call for help. The King County Medical Examiner has ruled the death accidental.

Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use.

Philip Quinn leaves behind a 15-month old daughter. He was also the youngest of three brothers. Funeral services are planned for this Saturday.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: breaking; bubbles; darwinawardfinalist; justdamn; lavalamp; riskyscheme; stovetopsnuffing; themightystupidquinn; worstlampever
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To: mikrofon

***SNORK***

lmao!

"Philip had a lava lamp,
He placed it on the stove.
Then everywhere the lava went
And Philip shoulda dove."

CLASSIC!! Great post! Sick, but great!


121 posted on 11/30/2004 12:22:25 PM PST by Danae (Kill Terrorists. Negotiation is a waste of breath.)
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To: beezdotcom

I certainly hope not. It would be a shame if all lava lamps would need to state: NOT for use on cook stove.


122 posted on 11/30/2004 12:24:55 PM PST by Libertina (We praise You Lord, You have granted America a Christian leader!)
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To: beezdotcom

Pitcher John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves once missed several starts (before he became a relief pitcher) because he tried to "touch up" his shirt with an iron while wearing it. True -- burned himself too badly to pitch.

Baseball players have the most bizarre accidents -- like the one (Wade Boggs?) who injured himself so badly putting on cowboy boots that he had to go on the injured reserve list. Believe he tripped and knocked himself out on a the edge of a tabletop. Or (not so bizarre) the Mets pitcher who cut off a finger with a power weed trimmer. Or the OTHER Atlanta Braves pitcher in the 1970s who, when out to dinner with some teammates, wanted to prove he could still dunk a basketball. So he jumped up with his hand extended, caught his college ring on the awning, and ripped his ring finger off.

Betcha they ban lava lamps from Major League clubhouses after this.


123 posted on 11/30/2004 12:27:04 PM PST by Scoutmaster (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred)
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To: Tijeras_Slim; martin_fierro
Where to begin?

Chinese imports at Wal-Mart, of course.
Lava lamps are making a comeback.
I understand the Mount St. Helens model is a big seller this season.

124 posted on 11/30/2004 12:27:36 PM PST by Willie Green
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To: listenhillary

What about those who can't read?

No, there should be a pressure relief valve.


125 posted on 11/30/2004 12:41:16 PM PST by brianl703 (Border crossing is a misdemeanor. So is drunk driving. Which do we have more checkpoints for?)
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To: Willie Green

That and the "Three Rivers Gorge" water slide.


126 posted on 11/30/2004 12:50:17 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim (I'm here because I'm not all there.)
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To: JustRight

"When will the insanity stop? We've got to ban these lava lamps now!"

First we have to require big labels pasted on the side saying
" Warning! - Placing this lamp on a hot stove and cooking it may result in injury or death to user and/or any household pets.
¡Advertencia! - la colocación de esta lámpara en una estufa caliente y cocinarla pueden dar lugar a lesión o a muerte al usuario y/o a cualquier animal doméstico de la casa."


127 posted on 11/30/2004 12:55:33 PM PST by RS (Just because they are out to get him doesn't mean he's not guilty)
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To: Beelzebubba

Ah yes, the second rule of laser safety.


128 posted on 11/30/2004 1:03:32 PM PST by Sender (Team Infidel USA)
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To: buffyt

I think the cat did it to itself. The dangling shaking cord was too much to resist. It probably has well satisfied it's curiosity of that particular item now.

I think I did hear them say "Turn off the fan Turn off the fan"


129 posted on 11/30/2004 1:15:30 PM PST by listenhillary (Tagline detective services. Missing or lost tag lines our specialty.)
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To: Scoutmaster
Pitcher John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves once . . . tried to "touch up" his shirt with an iron while wearing it.

He's a real iron man.

Or the OTHER Atlanta Braves pitcher in the 1970s who, when out to dinner with some teammates, wanted to prove he could still dunk a basketball. So he jumped up with his hand extended, caught his college ring on the awning, and ripped his ring finger off.

Cecil Upshaw, as I recall.

I remember Carlos May of the White Sox, who blew off his thumb while on NG duty, but still came back to be a good hitter. (He had a teammate, Walt Williams, who had no neck.)

The king of the defingered players was the great pitcher Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown.

On the other hand (so to speak), there is the overfingered reliever Antonio Alfonseca, who has six on each hand.

130 posted on 11/30/2004 1:49:42 PM PST by Charles Henrickson (Then there's Jim Abbott and Pete Gray. . . .)
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To: gridlock
oh dear, where is the kleenex... You know, if I hadn't once started to jump-start my Lava Lamp in the microwave, I might be in a position to be critical of this guy... Long story... But suffice it to say the door of a microwave oven is surprisingly strong! I am just crying... thank god for that door!
131 posted on 11/30/2004 1:50:12 PM PST by Danae (Kill Terrorists. Negotiation is a waste of breath.)
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To: scooter2

132 posted on 11/30/2004 1:53:56 PM PST by Fitzcarraldo
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To: scooter2

Ground casualty multiple fragmentation wounds hostile.


133 posted on 11/30/2004 1:54:08 PM PST by azhenfud ("He who is always looking up seldom finds others' lost change...")
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To: scooter2

I was thinking that too. Darwin Award.


134 posted on 11/30/2004 2:49:13 PM PST by Ptarmigan (Proud rabbit hater and killer)
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To: Common Sense 101

RE: "Do not use iron while wearing garment"

My husband tells me that he saw an article stating that the manufacturers of Umbrella-type strollers were ordered to put a label on the stroller to warn parents not to fold the stroller while the baby is in it!! Hello, should people be allowed to have children if they are likely to do a thing like that?


135 posted on 11/30/2004 10:15:54 PM PST by mean lunch lady ("the most dreaded words in the English language-we're from the government and we're here to help"-)
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To: null and void
PFFFFT!!! ROFLMAO!!!


136 posted on 11/30/2004 10:23:51 PM PST by COEXERJ145
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To: scooter2; Publius

DUUUUDDDEEEE! Only in Seattle!


137 posted on 11/30/2004 10:24:57 PM PST by Clemenza (Gabba Gabba Hey!)
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To: everyone

This is a tragedy, pure and simple. Those of you who are joking about it should grow up.


138 posted on 11/30/2004 10:25:37 PM PST by California Patriot
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To: Charles Henrickson

hahahashahahahahaha


139 posted on 11/30/2004 10:28:47 PM PST by dennisw (G_D: Against Amelek for all generations)
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To: cripplecreek

Oh no.
You've landed in a mirror universe!

[aka Bizarro World]


140 posted on 12/01/2004 2:59:34 AM PST by Salamander (This space for rent.)
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