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.

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.

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.

Alright, so the gauntlet has been thrown. Who's going to take one for the team?

Wild guess: sugar burnt black, which smells horrific.

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.

Holy shit, you were not kidding.

https://youtu.be/h0fcTQQk1rE?t=24 (and...keep watching!)

https://youtu.be/PfyVRhL2Dgw?t=129

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcAuVsX3dTg

> 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.

When I was a kid we got one of these new-fangled microwave things; my mum put a potato in it, scoffed at the idea that it could possibly be done in the 8 mins or whatever stated in the instructions, so dialled in a more 'realistic' time and went out to see the neighbours. I was upstairs doing homework oblivious to this drama, but was soon drawn down to the kitchen by the burning smell.

Well, the thing was still gamely running, albeit with smoke pouring out of the back, and the potato itself was a glowing meteorite slowly rotating on its dish, honestly a fascinating sight. The scorch mark on the wall behind is still visible these many decades later.

In a happy corollary, my mum, who has more than a touch of the Beverley Goldbergs about her in this regard, was somehow able to return the ruined 'wave back to the shop and get her money back !

This probably happened a half dozen times a year when I was in college in the dorms. Total evac with everyone in their pjs on the sidewalk. Usually it would be people getting high and making ramen and forgetting the water. Othertimes, popcorn would be purposely burned to mask the smell of getting high.

Who has the time to add water to instant ramen when in college? Or heat for that matter. You dump the powder on the brick and eat it like the big block of crunchy msg it is.

the visual in my mind of someone doing this is just not good. hillarious, but not good. thanks for that. I will have to include this in an as yet unwritten comedy script about the Odd Couple like roommates

It's actually not that bad, its like doritos but chicken flavor.

And a bit oilier. I think I only boiled it 2 or 3 times before switching over fully. If I was in a real rush I'd dump rhe powder in my mouth and eat the brick before the flavor faded. If i had time to boil water I had time to make a $1 totinos pizza.

Everything you just said is literally that bad.

This was a favourite lunch of mine as a kid - something about the texture was very appealing.

We weren’t poor or anything, I just liked it.

I assume you commit seppuku at that point to restore your honor.

No, just sudoku

Puzzling response.

Eh I guess it adds up.