NEWS: Lava lamp left on hot stovetop explodes, killing man

A Washington state resident was found dead in his trailer yesterday. The cause of his death was the explosion of a lava lamp that sent a piece of glass into his heart.



Apparently he had placed or was heating the lava lamp on his stove. This is a freak accident as its not all that easy to shoot through clothes and miss all the ribs and sternum to get to the heart. Talk about having bad luck.

[edit on 11/30/04 by FredT]

So much for the Lava Lamp being a symbol of serinity and peace. I feel sorry for the guys faimly that is left behind. But for the life of me, I cant figure out why you would heat a lava lamp on a stove, unless the bulb in the base of the lamp was blown and he didnt have another light.

you would think after millions of years of evolution the Stupided gean would be diluted enough to prevent this . Begining to belive in god now.

Ok, first bless his soul and I hope he rests in peace....

Second, not to sound mean or anything, this is a perfect example of darwinism.


Check out other examples here:

www.darwinawards.com...
The Darwin Awards commemorate the remains of individuals who contribute to the improvement of our gene pool by removing themselves from it in really stupid ways".

[edit on 30-11-2004 by TrueLies]

OR.... perhaps he came home to find someone or someones he didnt expect that was/were waiting for him! They held him down and stabbed him with a piece of glass. Carried his lifeless body to the bedroom to make it seem he made it there on his own and placed the lava lamp on the stove in order to make it seem accidental and/or stupid. Maybe maybe not. Perhaps they didnt collect all the pieces of glass from the lamp including the one from his heart and see if they fit the puzzle correctly? Perhaps they did. The only people of course who would know the whole truth are the ones who personally investigated the scene of the "accident" . I suppose we will never know...

When you first turn on a lava lamp, it takes at least an hour for the oil and wax to heat up to the point that it begins the cyclic rise and fall that the lava lamp is known for. He was probably trying to accelerate this process.

Since it occured in WA state in the winter, the glass was probably very cold. Glass types that aren't meant to be heated on a stove may easily shatter when placed in contact with a red-hot element while they are cold.

This guy would be alive today if he were a little more patient and smart.

Zip

A lava lamp contains oil mixed with water... water boils more rapidly than oil, there for taking the oil to the top as intended. The oil at extreme temperatures would ignite, and the gases it produced would, there for causing an explosion.

Heating it up on a stove will result in an explosion of the said lava lamp..

Surely common sense prevails here? why the hell would you try to heat up a lava lamp this way in the first place?

Originally posted by Zipdot
Since it occured in WA state in the winter, the glass was probably very cold.

Sorry, I've lived through WA state winters, and it's just not that cold. The story made our local TV, and I saw the house. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go with the Darwinism theory.

Beware, stupid people are breeding!!!

[edit on 30-11-2004 by dragn]

I'll have to go along with TrueLies & dragn on this one. Kent is kind of one of those places you expect to see on a site like this.

One less dumb person in the world.

This has to be a nomination for the Darwin awards.

Truely a Darwin Award canidate. I'm sorry everybody I should be acting professional and serious about somebodies death but I can't help it; This is the funniest thing I've heard in a while. Why would he be heating a lava lamp anyhow? People like this really do help our gene pool by removing themselves. My thoughts, prayers and laughter to the dudes family.

So, how long before the family sues the lava lamp company and we have warning labels on lava lamps (Do not place on or near heated devices such as stoves, fireplaces, etc. Maybe I'm a cynic but I won't be surprised if it happens. BTW, yes I would have to say as of yet this has my vote for the Darwin Award.

There is a kind of dark humor to be found in these circumstances, but the jubilant responses regarding the improvement of humankind, don't really speak to the maturity or sensitivity of the posters.

I rather doubt that his family and friends are having a hearty laugh around the coffin, right now. Maybe some one here can muster some sympathy for those he left behind, rather than acting like a bunch of jackasses.

For once I'm going to have to agree with Grady here...

I agree with you Grady. That must've been a horrible and painful death.
Perhaps he thought the glass was heat proof like the glass bakeing pans that are used. We'll never know why he put the lamp on the stove but we can feel sorry for him and his family.

Ok I should preface my previous comment with the admission that if I owned a lava lamp I would have probably already done this by accident somehow. I almost burned down my apartment making microwave popcorn. But anyway injecting humour into a tragedy is a psychological thing. Its not being irreverent to the deceased, it just makes a senseless tragedy somewhat easier to deal with. If anyone related to or friends with the deceased were to ever read this forum I hope that they know our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Originally posted by Flyer
One less dumb person in the world.

This has to be a nomination for the Darwin awards.

Hey you! What if you died in the most stupid way too? Would you say 'One less dumb person in the world.' I didn't think so. So just keep your hands off your keyboard when you want to type something like this.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
There is a kind of dark humor to be found in these circumstances, but the jubilant responses regarding the improvement of humankind, don't really speak to the maturity or sensitivity of the posters.

I rather doubt that his family and friends are having a hearty laugh around the coffin, right now. Maybe some one here can muster some sympathy for those he left behind, rather than acting like a bunch of jackasses.

Agreed. It's worse to be so hateful that you can laugh at someone elses demise than to be a little foolish...

- Attero

[edit on 30-11-2004 by Attero Auctorita]

Originally posted by jukyu
So, how long before the family sues the lava lamp company and we have warning labels on lava lamps (Do not place on or near heated devices such as stoves, fireplaces, etc. Maybe I'm a cynic but I won't be surprised if it happens. BTW, yes I would have to say as of yet this has my vote for the Darwin Award.

Actually, lava lamps already have this warning. It says to not heat it with an outside source or without an approved light bulb.

For the people who want to get serious about this death, I have this to say -- come on people, relax a bit. Everybody dies, this guy's nothing special.

Zip

Put your ATS username and password in your will, Zipdot, with instructions for your family to send me a U2U in the case of your untimely death. I will be glad to attend your funeral and have myself a hearty guffaw.