# What would cause a coffee cup to give off sparks when smashed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2023, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004 "2023-04-21T05:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/22 "2023-04-21T16:16:39Z")
This is the first time hearing about “rage rooms”. Is there an associated bar area? I ask, because there is an axe throwing place near me with leagues and everything. They initially tried to get a liquor license, but were turned down, so it is byob. > **[Las Hachas ~ The Ultimate Axe Throwing Experience](https://lashachas.com/)** > > Reserve now your axe throwing experience now! Come join us for the ultimate night out with friends and family to try something different. ETA: from the webpage. Can I bring my own alcohol? Yes! We actually encourage it. Who doesn’t like a cold one while tossing an axe? _Please note, we have the right to refuse service – stop you from throwing – if you appear to be a danger to yourself or others_ ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/23 "2023-04-21T16:48:50Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Don’t they have one of those in 1940’s _Pinocchio_, on Pleasure Island? There was a 2000s Winona Ryder (I think) movie that had a plot point of somebody giving up their old career and opening a business letting people smash hated objects. I’ve been trying to google up the details, but no luck. Maybe _The Last Word_? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/24 "2023-04-21T22:14:18Z")
Yeah, axe throwing and alcohol. What could go wrong there? I’ve heard that those rage rooms are often supplied by thrift stores and estate sale dealers who offload china and other items that they can’t even give away. Hope the OP wore eye protection. In the meantime, I thought of this long-running, very popular YouTube channel from Finland. Enjoy! (They don’t crush political ephemera or souvenirs from any country, so don’t even ask LOL.) ETA II: It was the Hydraulic Press Channel, whose link posted the first time and then went bye-bye. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/25 "2023-04-21T22:23:10Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard that those rage rooms are often supplied by thrift stores and estate sale dealers who offload china and other items that they can’t even give away. Hope the OP wore eye protection. They give you a paintball mask and a boiler suit before you enter the room. And yes, most of it aside from the empty liquor bottles was probably thrift shop salvage. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s the labeling “rage room”, and the scene setting of a standard living room or kitchen that I object to as psychologically unhealthy _at the margin_. Unless your living room is made of plywood with a brick wall in one corner, rubber mats in lieu of carpeting, and no furniture except for a stack of old tires in the middle of the room, I wouldn’t call it standard. It’s just a fun and safe way to do something that you just can’t do in normal circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/26 "2023-04-22T01:24:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s just a fun and safe way to do something that you just can’t do in normal circumstances. Right, and it sounds like fun. And if it was marketed as breaking things is fun, then that’s great. But it sounds like it is marketed as breaking things is a way to deal with frustration, and that’s not healthy. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/27 "2023-04-23T03:01:58Z")
Hah - I see one (possibly the one mentioned?) advertised as a great team-building exercise. What could possibly go wrong? Sounds like a skit from Portlandia. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/28 "2023-04-23T03:14:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Hah - I see one (possibly the one mentioned?) advertised as a great team-building exercise. If it’s Rage Industry in Lake City, then that’s the one! It’s next door to a car dealership in what clearly used to be a one-bedroom bungalow. Very nondescript from the outside but the staff was professional and helpful. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/29 "2023-04-23T03:37:22Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If it’s Rage Industry in Lake City, then that’s the one! It’s next door to a car dealership in what clearly used to be a one-bedroom bungalow I’ve driven past it many times, and just last week was musing on what the heck it was (there’s a lot of turnover in that stretch). Now I know! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/30 "2023-04-23T12:37:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s the labeling “rage room”, and the scene setting of a standard living room or kitchen that I object to as psychologically unhealthy _at the margin_. The one I went to called it a “smash room” - perhaps that alleviates the implied need for anger. Alas, it wasn’t a standard living room or kitchen - it was just a storage room full of junk. I got my fill of breaking glass after about 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/31 "2023-04-23T12:48:18Z")
Car smashing has been a thing for a while. I’m [seeing pages](https://www.google.com/search?q=sledgehammer+car+charity&client=firefox-b-1-m&channel=ts&sxsrf=APwXEddGQOeef5r901fX2t7Z0ARoBcvbEQ:1682253806508&ei=7idFZI7bHtHmkvQP49W8iAU&start=0&sa=N) from at least 2009, but it probably goes back to well before that. Maybe LSLGuy is upset because they took his plane. > **[Predators fans upgrade pre-game smashing ritual before Game 1](https://www.yahoo.com/news/predators-fans-upgrade-pre-game-smashing-ritual-game-1-001647029.html)** > > The Nashville Predators are giving their fans the best in sledgehammer-related entertainment during the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/32 "2023-04-23T14:47:52Z")
Of course there was always this fine invention. Which was a favorite at bigger Monster Truck events when I attended such things. And the occasional airshow. Sadly, it seems to have gone extinct. > **[When the Car-Eating, Airplane-Devouring Robosaurus Roamed the Earth](https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/robosaurus-car-eating-dinosaur-toy)** > > With 12,000 pounds of bite force, this 40-foot-tall robot ate cars like candy—and audiences ate it up. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/33 "2023-04-23T15:43:22Z")
A room where i could smash stuff with a sledgehammer sound like fun. I’d be happier if it were marketed as a smash room, not a rage room, but I’d probably have fun either way. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004/34 "2023-04-23T19:40:22Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Car smashing has been a thing for a while. I’m [seeing pages](https://www.google.com/search?q=sledgehammer+car+charity&client=firefox-b-1-m&channel=ts&sxsrf=APwXEddGQOeef5r901fX2t7Z0ARoBcvbEQ:1682253806508&ei=7idFZI7bHtHmkvQP49W8iAU&start=0&sa=N) from at least 2009, but it probably goes back to well before that. If you see someone on the street with a sign offering a chance to hit a car with a sledgehammer for $10 make sure he owns that car before you take a swing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-cause-a-coffee-cup-to-give-off-sparks-when-smashed/983004.md?page=1)