Glass shelf spontaneously exploded. WTF

[Mark R]

I had a small glass shelf in the bathroom. It was actually part of a mirror/shelf assembly, where the glass sits in a little tray, so is under low stress.

I had a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush on it - nothing heavy or big.

While I was in the bedroom, I suddenly hear this massive crack and crashing sound. I wonder what it is. Thinking something has fallen in the kitchen, I look around, but everything is in its normal position. So, I go to the bathroom, and there is glass everywhere, including a sink full.

The shelf had completely disintegrated into little nuggets. Even more bizarre, the little fragments lying on the floor and in the sink were going "snap, crackly, and pop" like a bowl of rice krispies. And every time, there was a snap, one of the little nuggets would leap up in the air, like it was alive.

A known risk with tempered glass, but I must admit, I was pretty surprised by this.

 

[pelov]

 

[Imp]

Welcome to the world of temperamental tempered glass.

Apparently, any knick, manufacturing defect, scratch, or whatever can cause this to happen over time.

 

[Jodell88]

It was a poltergeist. Sorry OP, but your house is haunted.

 

[destrekor]

The shelf had completely disintegrated into little nuggets. Even more bizarre, the little fragments lying on the floor and in the sink were going "snap, crackly, and pop" like a bowl of rice krispies. And every time, there was a snap, one of the little nuggets would leap up in the air, like it was alive.

It wants to reassemble itself, but it knows you have witnessed the accident and its first attempts to get itself together...
get it before it gets you, 't'is all I'm saying.

 

[T9D]

It was your neighbor, your glass shelf was making to much noise.

 

[who?]

The ceiling must have healed itself after the meteorite came through.

 

[Malak]

Welcome to the world of temperamental tempered glass.

Apparently, any knick, manufacturing defect, scratch, or whatever can cause this to happen over time.

There is only 2 modes to tempered glass, one piece or a million. But they are more resistant to breaking than regular glass.

 

[NFS4]

I've had the same thing happen:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=280699

 

[SparkyJJO]

Tell the fat lady next door to stop singing at such a high frequencies.

 

[phucheneh]

Happens at random. I've seen glass cases in stores break without anyone touching them. One of those sliding doors just explodes into bits.

 

[ISAslot]

I've had the same thing happen:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=280699

I remembered this thread. It's like you both have the same reaction too.

 

[Dari]

Can you imagine if you or a loved one was in the bathroom at the time? Worse, there would be no one to sue. There have been reports of the sunroof of BMWs exploding but the dealerships say that it's the drivers' fault. Are there certain types of glass that do this or do they all have this problem?

 

[phucheneh]

Tempered glass. I've heard of sunroofs doing it, too.

It usually has to do with the glass being stressed. In the case of a sunroof, either the frame surrounding the glass is tweaked, or there's a problem with the track...something subjects the glass to some kind of torque or uneven stress.

In the case of sliding doors in stores, I think it's just basic physics...if you have a 5' tall pane of glass and it's not completely perpendicular to the forces of gravity, that's quite a bit of stress trying to bend it.

 

[chowderhead]

It's the clapper guy from the Conjuring.

 

[JoetheLion]

I think that it was an inside job, the things you described are hardly a coincidence. I would suspect the toothbrush. Or no, that would be too simple, somebody wants you to think that it was the toothbrush.

 

[who?]

Too many neutrinos or cosmic rays hit the right spot at the wrong time.

 

[Jaepheth]

Hot cold hot cold hot cold

A piece of glass can only take so much.

 

[dud]

It was obviously aliens from outer space ...

Everyone knows this!

 

[clamum]

Can you imagine if you or a loved one was in the bathroom at the time? Worse, there would be no one to sue. There have been reports of the sunroof of BMWs exploding but the dealerships say that it's the drivers' fault. Are there certain types of glass that do this or do they all have this problem?

LOL, "there would be no one to sue". :awe:

 

[Dari]

LOL, "there would be no one to sue". :awe:

Why is that funny? Something tragic happens where you need to be hospitalized or worse. And this happened in your home. How would you go about getting reimbursed for your troubles or to make sure those responsible are held responsible? Whether it's something the OP described or the case of the BMWs, this is something extremely serious that could lead to death. Someone should be held responsible. It wasn't the OP's fault and it was not a freak of nature. If this issue is common with tempered glass then the manufacturers need to either change something or stop making these glasses.

 

[Raduque]

Why is that funny? Something tragic happens where you need to be hospitalized or worse. And this happened in your home. How would you go about getting reimbursed for your troubles or to make sure those responsible are held responsible? Whether it's something the OP described or the case of the BMWs, this is something extremely serious that could lead to death. Someone should be held responsible. It wasn't the OP's fault and it was not a freak of nature. If this issue is common with tempered glass then the manufacturers need to either change something or stop making these glasses.

Can you please just kill yourself now?

 

[Dari]

Can you please just kill yourself now?

Only after you suck me dry...

 

[dighn]

I don't think they explode with a lot of force... and tempered glass shards tend to be round and not have many sharp edges.

 

[Theb]

Any way to increase the odds of this happening? I know some people I would like to give presents of exploding glass.

<evil laughter>