People can be really, really dumb sometimes:
Reports about a study that found microwave ovens can be used to sterilize kitchen sponges sent people hurrying to test the idea this week -- with sometimes disastrous results.
A team at the University of Florida found that two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites on kitchen sponges.
They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them.
But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge.
"Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off," one correspondent wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.
"First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open," complained another. (Emphasis mine.)
Come on, people! Must everything come with safety information? It's a microwave. It's supposed to be easy, not to require directions.
I couldn't find a YouTube video of a sponge in the microwave, but I did find a fun one of a Furby (below the fold).
Muahaha:
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Oh! that evil was worth the click-though.
It started out moving... and then flames!