Microwave Experiments Cause Sponge Disasters

gollum123 writes "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."

Comments

Re:No foolish defense at another's expense...

[JM78]

FTA: But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge.

Your Comment: This was not mentioned at all in the original Reuters article to begin with, but all other details (how long, power setting) were included.

From the ORIGINAL Article: "...they soaked sponges and scrubbing pads in raw wastewater..." (fourth paragraph). Seems to me that the Reuters article stated this step quite clearly.

If one lacks the judgment to realize that putting a sponge in the microwave without water is going to burn it then their experience should be their lesson. Lazy-ass people. Stop blindly following every silly little thing you read and take some responsibility for your own stupidity rather than whining that someone else 'told you to do it.' I seem to remember my mother teaching me the 'if your friends told you to jump off a bridge...' lesson when I was freakin' five years old.