Just had a shock !!!

[023mjc]

The strangest thing has just happened to me.  I opened the kitchen cupboard to get a cup out, and as reached in for a cup, a glass on the shelf above exploded.  It made a huge bang, and shattered into tiny pieces no bigger than peas. It blew right across the kitchen and into the hall and dining room. My hair and clothes were showered in tiny bits of glass - luckily nothing in my eyes.

The glasses are not new. Not hot from recent washing.  Not wet. Not stacked.  Just sitting there like they have done for years.

Any scientists out there that might have a clue what caused it.

My heart is still pounding and I think I'll be sweeping it up for weeks.  It's everywhere.

[kidmore_kats]

Seems you are not alone

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080416062635AAuVhSr

[theelench]

I collect old glass and would go with the explanations that involve sudden change of temperature.  Would the cupboard be attached to an outside wall?  If so it could be that the inside of the cupboard was a few degrees colder than the kitchen  --   open the door and warm air flooded in and bang.

I've read that air bubbles in old glass can cause it to break if stood on a hot, sunny window ledge, the air heats up and expands quicker than the glass.  Can't explain why it exploded so violently though.  I once bought a large bowl with pedestal and handles from a garage sale on a cold winter day.  Put it down in the kitchen and a few minutes later heard a "tink".  Looked at the bowl and the top of one handle had separated from the bowl by about 1/8th of an inch.

[gindygoo]

I'd definitely go with temperature changes, that and possibly a micro crack in the glass already existing would be enough to blow it. Still, must've been blooming frightening lol 😱 💣

[023mjc]

Thanks for the responses. 

No, it's not on an outside wall, and it was mid evening.  The cupboard is near the cooker, but the cooker had not been used for about 4 hours so there shouldn't have been much in the way of temperature change, although it did seem as if opening the door triggered it somehow.

It didn't just break into pieces - I could understand that.  It exploded as if it was fired from a gun, and the pieces are tiny - thousands of them no bigger than a pea. It blew out into 2 adjoining rooms.

Yes it was frightening - scared to open any blooming doors this morning.

[cee-dee]

The item must have had a tiny flaw or chip. It's not unknown for glass items to suddenly shatter "for no reason".

[**bustysinclaire**]

Was the glass upside down?

Sounds like it burst like a balloon. 

For some reason the pressure on the inside of the upsidedown glass has increased so much that the glass could no longer withstand it and it and exploded,  burst like a balloon which would account for the extensive shattering and over a large area.

Thank goodness the OP had glasses on, it could have been very serious.

[023mjc]

Yes it was upside down.  Bursting a ballon is exactly what it was like - almost like it was shot by a gun.

I didn't have glasses on, and my face was pelted by bits, but it all missed my eyes.  I guess someone was watching over me that day.  I was very lucky.

[**bustysinclaire**]

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@023mjc wrote:

Yes it was upside down.  Bursting a ballon is exactly what it was like - almost like it was shot by a gun.

I didn't have glasses on, and my face was pelted by bits, but it all missed my eyes.  I guess someone was watching over me that day.  I was very lucky.

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Oh gosh!!! I don't know why I thought you had glasses on, thank goodness it missed your eyes. the only other thing I can think of to increase heat or pressure is chemical reaction or gas!!!! Hope it isn't either but I'm sure you have investigated and passed everything as OK.

What a scary thing.  xxxx

[theelench]

As no-one has added to this thread for a couple of days I hope the OP won't mind me adding another story of something strange occurring in my cupboard.

Every year I buy two, one ounce, silver Britannia coins.  I intend to leave a complete set to each of my nephews so I put them in a plastic coin capsule and place the capsules in plastic, felt lined, coin trays.  There are now 42 coins, weighing 2lbs 10 ounces in total.  They sit in the bottom of the cupboard untouched for another year and the cupboard is rarely, if ever, opened during the year.  The cupboard has magnetic catches, not the sort where a bearing fits into a hole, so it opens and closes without any pressure that might knock the doors onto the frame.

Every year I straighten them out so the heads are neatly aligned and straight, the capsules fit quite snugly into tray compartments so don't move about easily.  I have to do this every year because every year when I add the next coins the heads are pointing all over the place.  Some don't move at all, some move a little but others move round by anything up to about 90 degrees.

When I first noticed this I thought it was just vibration through the building (although I don't live on a main road) but as the coins are identical why do some move but not others?  Why do some move a lot and others only a little?  It's not even that the same coins in different trays move equally, it seems entirely random.

Any ideas?

[gindygoo]

None quibono, but that's pretty spooky 😱 there has to be a scientific explanation though 🤷‍♀️

[right-then-petal]

hmm plastic on velvet i'd say vibration over the course of year  any moisture around

[theelench]

Definitely no moisture.  Yes, there must be a scientific explanation and I did think of vibration.  But the same coins, in the same capsules, in the same trays, all stacked on top of each other.  All subject equally to the same vibrations.  The odd bit is that some move a little, some a lot and others not at all, those that move and those that don't mixed completely randomly through the different trays. 

[**bustysinclaire**]

Static electricity and vibration?

[sellsoldstough]

If you don't observe them very often, how do you know some haven't done more than one revolution?

For all you know, they could be spinning all the time and only stop when they hear you coming.

"although I don't live on a main road"

Any large vehicle, e.g. a lorry or bus stood idling outside for a long time, could cause it. And endanger your health too. Doesn't need to be a major road.

[suzieseaside]

Gremlins ......... they are more common than you might think ! 😁

[theelench]

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@sellsoldstough wrote:

If you don't observe them very often, how do you know some haven't done more than one revolution?

For all you know, they could be spinning all the time and only stop when they hear you coming.

"although I don't live on a main road"

Any large vehicle, e.g. a lorry or bus stood idling outside for a long time, could cause it. And endanger your health too. Doesn't need to be a major road.

---

Over time coins "tone" and these are.  If they were spinning when I'm not looking they would still be very shiny from the polishing.

Vehicles idling is a distinct possibility, we get a lot of that and you've probably hit the nail on the head.  We get two refuse collection trucks a week in the road, plus two others, one for each of the schools.  Also when Argos etc. deliver white goods or furniture they always leave the engine running so the platform on the back works.

If I had an "Accept as Solution" button I'd click it for your suggestion .

Thanks.

[sellsoldstough]

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@theelench wrote:

  All subject equally to the same vibrations.  The odd bit is that some move a little, some a lot and others not at all, those that move and those that don't mixed completely randomly through the different trays. 

---

The storage may not vary (although I find that doubtful) but the dates and possibly the designs on the faces and edges presumably do. I hope you're taking photographs each time you go in there to check whether the same ones are revolving roughly the same amount each year. Maybe you could leave a camera in there set to do time lapse photography powered via a mains adaptor (itself on a timer) so its battery won't run out. It would be great to watch the resulting video. You might become a Youtube star. And if the photos were time stamped it might reveal the real culprit.

[mustard-tree]

Another thing that has always puzzled me, and many others I expect.

You set up your TV, DVD player, Digi box, Hi Fi, and all the wires and leads are nice and tidy behind the cupboard.

Nobody has been there, nobody has touched anything, but look a few months later, and it is like spaghetti junction, wires and leads all a tangle.

Can anyone explain that.

[023mjc]

Or when you put your knickers in the washing machine, they always end up inside out.  I've tried turning them inside out before I start thinking they'll turn themselves back - but no.