[Timesink]

IF water now blows up, this is going to provide a real problem for us "shower takers" during airport threads..

There is a way water can "blow up," in a sense. You can even try it out from the comfort of your own home, if you have a microwave oven, a really smooth glass container, and the desire to cover your face and arms in second- and third-degree burns.

[blackdog]

I discovered that by coincidence. During my school years I waited on tables and tended bar. This crotchety old lady complained that her hot tea would be cold before she could drink it. After her constant complaining I decided that she would have no grounds in the future to complain. The next time she came for lunch I took the glass bottle(called hottle) which the hot water goes in, filled it with hot water and then put it in the microwave until I saw it boil. After five minutes(never saw any boiling) I had better things to do so I took it to her table. It had just a mere whisper of steam lingering at the surface. In her rush to immerse the bag before it got cold, she immediately unwrapped the bag and the instant it came in contact with the calm water, it erupted into a volcano of hell. It actually shot up so high that it shorted out the light fixture. She never said a word about the tea being too cold again. Amazingly she was un-hurt. The shape of the bottle provided a vertical launch.