There are a lot of worst-case scenarios when preparing food. But watching vegetables catch fire as soon as they’re thrown in the microwave has to be pretty far up there in terms of food nightmares. Of course, many people have seen eggs exploding online, but vegetables? Surely those are safe.
Well, perhaps not. One man is currently going viral on TikTok for recording an unexpected fireworks show emanating from a seemingly-innocuous pile of greens.
‘Only thing that does that in a microwave is metal’
In an April 29 video that’s now just shy of a million views, southern Illinois rice farmer Tank Collins documents a unique phenomenon that sometimes occurs when you put green beans in the microwave. In his video, Collins specifically used Season’s Choice-branded green beans (distributed by Aldi).
“Okay, explain this,” Collins said in his video, training the camera on eleven green beans resting on a paper plate. He panned the camera to a Season’s Choice packet. “Steamed, Season’s Choice cut green beans. Put them on this plate. Put them in the microwave. Add 30 seconds.”
Collins placed the plate of green beans in his microwave and started heating it up. Within less than 3 seconds, the green beans started sparking with flames. Crackling sounds overpowered the hum of the microwave as the plate rotated and sparks flew.
Collins eventually wrenched open the microwave before things got too out of hand. As soon as the microwave stopped heating the plate, the green beans stopped sparking. They just smoked ominously as Collins wrapped up his video.
“Explain that,” Collins said, his camera lingering on the smoke emanating from the smoldering green beans. “Only thing that does that in a microwave is metal.”
Collins placed the green beans back in the microwave one more time, for good measure, and they began sparking again. With the camera closer, the flames appeared brighter. The green beans’ crackling sound had turned to a distinctive “zapping” noise that coincided with each flicker of flame.
Opening the microwave once more, Collins’ video ended on the image of smoke billowing from the green beans. So what gives?
Why do some vegetables spark when microwaved?
The thing is, Collins isn’t wrong. When you think of things sparking, or arcing, in the microwave, metal generally comes to mind—not vegetables grown in the earth. So could there be more to green beans that meet the eye?
In short, yes! As multiple people in Collins’ comment section pointed out, his intuitive leap to metals was a correct one. As Indianapolis’ Children’s Museum explains on its website (citing NPR), “dense vegetables such as green beans, carrots, spinach, and green peppers contain a higher amount of minerals in them than other types of food.”
The Children’s Museum continued, adding, “These minerals – which include iron, magnesium, and selenium – act like tiny pieces of metal and create what is known as an “arcing effect” in microwaves,” the Children’s Museum writes. “An arcing effect is when sparks occur as a result of electromagnetic waves in a microwave reflecting or bouncing off metal … If a small piece of metal is present in the microwave, it can locally enhance the electric field and make it stronger than the air surrounding it.”
Arcing isn’t just caused by the presence of metal, but also by the shape of the metallic object. Certain shapes, “especially pointy edges,” make more sparks form. This means that “vegetables or plants that have edges or points, like Brussels sprouts or green beans, can act to enhance the electric effect.”
Buzz News has reached out to Collins via TikTok comment and Aldi via email for more information.
@rice_farmer_tank #fypシ #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Tank Collins
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