Dammit, in this hotel we obey the laws of thermodynamics!

[infinitemonkies]

The fire alarms went off in the hotel at 5 am this morning.

How is it even possible to burn BREAD, and by burn I mean crispy, charred and billowing smoke, in a microwave? HOW!?!

One of the guests apparantly set the microwave in her room to 30 hours instead of 30 seconds and didn't think to stop it under after it burst into flames.

I just don't understand

[telecom_goddess]

Can you really set a microwave for 30 hours?

I would think that would be a safety feature to look at.

Nevermind that the person who did this is a moron for not checking on their bread after a minute anyway.

[JoitheArtist]

Um...my CEO wasn't staying in your hotel by any chance, was she?

Dear gods, please tell me she wasn't! She's out of town, and staying in a hotel somewhere...

[Samaliel]

How is it even possible to burn BREAD, and by burn I mean crispy, charred and billowing smoke, in a microwave? HOW!?!

It is very possible, and it doesn't take very long to do so (about 5 minutes, tops). Well, not to the point of "billowing smoke", I can assure you that 5 minutes at 750 - 800W is plenty enough to turn anything into a piece of charcoal. Well, at least, bread and cheese will.

Yes, I was old enough to be a fire hazard and not old enough to know better when microwaves were still sort of a novelty...

[BookstoreEscapee]

That's OK. When I was a kid I remember my dad purposely putting a metal takeout conatiner in the microwave to see what happened.

At least he was watching it and stopped it before it could do any damage. It did develop a small flame, like a candle, on the edge.

[AccountingDrone]

It is very possible, and it doesn't take very long to do so (about 5 minutes, tops). Well, not to the point of "billowing smoke", I can assure you that 5 minutes at 750 - 800W is plenty enough to turn anything into a piece of charcoal. Well, at least, bread and cheese will.

Yes, I was old enough to be a fire hazard and not old enough to know better when microwaves were still sort of a novelty...

I had a brain dead ex roomie put a leftover toasted cheese sandwich into a toaster oven, on a paper plate.

Never occurred to her that toaster ovens aren't microwave ovens, she was young enough that she had probably never seen a toaster oven...

[infinitemonkies]

Fun party trick:

Put a cd, data side up, in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

It looks really awesome, but it will stink for 2 days.

Try it if you're drunk, or about to throw out a still-working microwave.

[Angry_Hippie]

Find a way to hold a lit cigarette straight up in a microwave you HATE (and wouldn't mind if you broke, modeling clay works well). Microwave a lit cigarette and you will create BALL LIGHTNING

[Broomjockey]

I like the grape plasma trick.

Microwaves are tricky things, however. One day, I was making hot dogs for me and my friends. Threw 8 in the microwave for 2 minutes. About half of them were cooked. Took those out. Ended up having to cook the rest for another 6 minutes or so before they were cooked. 8 minutes in the microwave, they shoulda been glowing. They were barely warm. No, microwave wasn't dying. Used it for another 8 years.

[Food Lady]

I like the grape plasma trick.

..........Do tell!

[infinitemonkies]

Microwave grape racing:

Put down 2 or more straight line trails of olive oil.
Place a grape, navel out, on each line of oil.
Turn on the microwave.
As the grapes heat up, steam/plasma will start to exhaust from the navel, and will propel the grape along the line of oil.
The grape that goes the farthest and/or fastest wins.

[Broomjockey]

..........Do tell!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ux8nSWmAz0

Takes about a minute thirty to get to the good part, but it does show you how to do it at home. Which you probably shouldn't.

[Chromatix]

One of the guests apparantly set the microwave in her room to 30 hours instead of 30 seconds...

Most microwaves can't be set for 30 hours (it would be a bit of a silly feature TBH). More likely would be 30 minutes. Still quite long enough to cause a fire hazard with many snack foods.

Good microwaves don't make it especially easy to set for 30 minutes, either. The cheap three-button type is an exception though - the buttons are 10 seconds, 1 minute, 10 minutes. It's the same amount of work for 30 seconds and 30 minutes, you just have to hit the wrong button.

[Caffienated_Caramel]

I remember accidently putting in a cinnabon in our super vintage microwave for 30 minutes. I was like 7 or 8 at the time too. It was one of those metal dials and I was trying to find the 30 second part...

Charcoal cinnabons are nasty

[Evil Queen]

The fire alarms went off in the hotel at 5 am this morning.

How is it even possible to burn BREAD, and by burn I mean crispy, charred and billowing smoke, in a microwave? HOW!?!

I dunno, but a guest did it about a month ago now with a bagel. He set it for 20 minutes thinking it was 20 seconds and forgot about it. Yes, it was ON FIRE and BILLOWING SMOKE.

He brought it to me at the front desk. I was trying to find what room the smoke alarm was going off in. He hands it to me apologizing. It's at this point that I, laughing, reminded him of our No Smoking Policy.

It was an accident so we didn't charge him anything. Just aired out the room and hosed it down with this stuff that gets rid of smoke smells. I tell ya, I will NEVER forget what a burnt Onion Bagel smells like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ux8nSWmAz0

Takes about a minute thirty to get to the good part, but it does show you how to do it at home. Which you probably shouldn't.

Holy Smoking Grape Slices Batman! That is AWESOME!!

No, I'd never do it myself but it's still cool to see.