The dreaded Microwave disaster...

My brother had a friend who was into electronics, and in the early days of microwaves gave my brother one that had been rehabbed...the electronic touch pad no longer worked, so the friend rigged an On/Off switch and glued a timer to the front that beeped as a reminder to come turn the thing off.

So one day my brother's girlfriend put in a potato, set the timer for 5 minutes, hit the On switch, then got into the shower!

That day, we all learned that potatoes are combustible (flammable)...at least, Russets are.
 
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In The Sticks said:
My brother had a friend who was into electronics, and in the early days of microwaves gave my brother one that had been rehabbed...the electronic touch pad no longer worked, so the friend rigged an On/Off switch and glued a timer to the front that beeped as a reminder to come turn the thing off.

So one day my brother's girlfriend put in a potato, set the timer for 5 minutes, hit the On switch, then got into the shower!

That day, we all learned that potatoes are combustible...at least, Russets are.
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Umm...did you happen to poke some holes in it before you put it in the microwave?
 

I was once so engrossed in online banter with a friend I misread the instructions for microwaving dumplings, setting it to 12 minutes instead of 12 seconds, I was alerted by the smell and, on opening the microwave door, smoke bellowed out filling the room, setting off the fire alarm, taking ages to clear despite all windows and doors being opened

The dumplings were burnt to a cinder and the microwave smelt of smoke so badly I bought a new one, taught me a lesson though and on the rare occasion I use it now I make sure I read the instructions correctly ....
 
I don't have a microwave disaster because I've never owned a microwave oven.
But I did hear about microwave disasters many years ago. Some people didn't understand how they worked & a few learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to dry a small dog in one after his bath.
 
I suppose I've had the basic disasters associated with learning how to use the microwave to cook various things.

Sparking from gold or platinum banded china, exploding eggs, uneven cooking, etc...

I'm still learning to use the microwave to cook a variety of things for one person. YouTube has been a big help to me in preventing disasters and disappointments.

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I'm only laughing, Aunt Bea, because of the gold-rimmed glassware. I made a glass of instant iced tea and then decided that I wanted it hot instead. It never occured to me that gold is a great conductor! OOPS - fireworks show and scorch marks in the microwave! For the good news, my vintage gold-rimmed glass actually survived!
 
win231 said:
I don't have a microwave disaster because I've never owned a microwave oven.
But I did hear about microwave disasters many years ago. Some people didn't understand how they worked & a few learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to dry a small dog in one after his bath.
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Sorry, i couldn't stay quiet about this one.......How totally BRAINLESS can someone be......:mad::mad::mad:
 
Grandson put one of those mac & cheese microwave cups in, forgetting to add the water - the thing melted and blew all over the inside of the microwave.

Has anyone ever put a good piece of china in...one with a gold or silver rim? LOL!
 
jujube said:
Yes, I tried to cook chicken livers in a microwave. Guess what? They explode. All over the place. And it's very, very hard to get them off the inside of a microwave.
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Well, that's what happened to the woman's dog she tried to dry off. And another woman got back at her husband by putting his parrot in the microwave.
I'm surprised they haven't required background checks to purchase........
 
My original Litton microwave gave instructions on how you could use aluminum foil in it.

It's all a matter of the amount of foil relative to the mass of the food. Their application was for those who wanted to microwave a roast (yeh, I know.) In order to prevent the tips from drying out, you wrap a little aluminum foil around them to shield the tips from the microwave. It will not arc because the mass of the roast absorbs most of the waves, so the remaining energy is so low that it can not cause that arcing & sparking.

I think I tried making microwave beef and chicken...once.
 
About the biggest microwave disaster I can think of was that many years ago (in the 50s I think)my dad came home from a business trip all excited. Someone he knew wanted him to partner with him to promote his new oven-it was a microwave oven. My dad decided that it would probably never sell and passed on it...
 
Microwaves were invented by Dr. Percy Spencer, who was working for Raytheon at the time building radar units (you may recall that the first microwave was called the Amana Radar Range.)

I did a report on this for a public speaking class many years ago.

From Wiki:

One day while building magnetrons, Spencer was standing in front of an active radar set when he noticed the candy bar he had in his pocket had melted. Spencer was not the first to notice this phenomenon, but he was the first to investigate it.
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These guys were literally working in a microwave oven!!!
 

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