3 ms·

In the late 90s, someone in my house decided to put an orange in a microwave for 30+ minutes just for the hell of it. Nothing happened for the first 20 minutes

In the late 90s, someone in my house decided to put an orange in a microwave for 30+ minutes just for the hell of it. Nothing happened for the first 20 minutes or so, but then the orange cracked open and belched out thick black smoke that smelled _disgusting_. At some point I'm going to sacrifice an old microwave and recreate this experiment outside; I'm desperate to know what the heck is going on with that microwaved orange.

chiph 4y ago
A niece did something like that as her high school science fair project. She got a cheap microwave from Walmart, then tested theories on how long various items would last before becoming a smoking pile, based on their sugar, fat, and protein content.
- asdff 4y ago
  I'm sure that would have been interesting to see that data. I had an ancient microwave that had cook times for various classical american dishes. Apparently its 30 minutes to microwave an entire turkey.
  - 0des 4y ago
    Alright, so the gauntlet has been thrown. Who's going to take one for the team?
JoshTriplett 4y ago
Wild guess: sugar burnt black, which smells horrific.
asdff 4y ago
Another fun experiment is to slice a grape in half and stick it under a glass cup, then start the microwave and step the hell back. Also, never ever put an egg in a microwave. I accidentally made that mistake and it blew the door open and shattered the glass dish. Might as well have microwaved dynamite.
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  Holy shit, you were not kidding. https://youtu.be/h0fcTQQk1rE?t=24 https://youtu.be/h0fcTQQk1rE?t=24 (and...keep watching!) https://youtu.be/PfyVRhL2Dgw?t=129 https://youtu.be/PfyVRhL2Dgw?t=129 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcAuVsX3dTg https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcAuVsX3dTg
- exmadscientist 4y ago
  > Might as well have microwaved dynamite. On that note, do not ever microwave carbon fiber. It's more like an ammo crate going up than a single explosion, but still... don't do it.

chiph 4y ago

A niece did something like that as her high school science fair project. She got a cheap microwave from Walmart, then tested theories on how long various items would last before becoming a smoking pile, based on their sugar, fat, and protein content.

asdff 4y ago
I'm sure that would have been interesting to see that data. I had an ancient microwave that had cook times for various classical american dishes. Apparently its 30 minutes to microwave an entire turkey.
- 0des 4y ago
  Alright, so the gauntlet has been thrown. Who's going to take one for the team?

JoshTriplett 4y ago

Wild guess: sugar burnt black, which smells horrific.

asdff 4y ago

Another fun experiment is to slice a grape in half and stick it under a glass cup, then start the microwave and step the hell back. Also, never ever put an egg in a microwave. I accidentally made that mistake and it blew the door open and shattered the glass dish. Might as well have microwaved dynamite.

KennyBlanken 4y ago
Holy shit, you were not kidding. https://youtu.be/h0fcTQQk1rE?t=24 https://youtu.be/h0fcTQQk1rE?t=24 (and...keep watching!) https://youtu.be/PfyVRhL2Dgw?t=129 https://youtu.be/PfyVRhL2Dgw?t=129 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcAuVsX3dTg https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcAuVsX3dTg
exmadscientist 4y ago
> Might as well have microwaved dynamite. On that note, do not ever microwave carbon fiber. It's more like an ammo crate going up than a single explosion, but still... don't do it.