# Why would an electric scale explode? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 6, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965 "2025-02-06T18:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/1 "2025-02-06T18:43:12Z")
We have a scale similar to [this](https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Precision-Products-Accurate-Stainless/dp/B00K1GT4PU/ref=asc_df_B00K1GT4PU?mcid=f87362585cbc3163aea682a96a92a398&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693308329615&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5698144436832474089&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021531&hvtargid=pla-493125344793&th=1) in one of our upstairs bedrooms. A few minutes ago, I was alone at home working in our living room, when I heard something that sounded like a handful of small objects - beads or something - falling off a desk or table. I went upstairs to see what it could be. In the bedroom, I saw the shattered scale. When I say shattered, I mean the surface is made of glass, and it shattered into pieces as small as 1/8" square. (Fortunately, in shattered such that it did not create sharp shards.). Some small pieces were as far as 4 feet from where the scale was located. At first, I did not even know what it was. I had assumed it was something that had fallen off the wall, and was trying to recall what had been hanging there. There was a metal U-shaped "frame with some wires, and when I looked at it, it said “scale.” We’ve had this for several years. Any idea what would cause such a catastrophic failure? Neither my wife not I are grossly obese. The scale has always been in a climate-controlled part of the house. Temps today are actually reasonably warm for Chicago in February - above freezing. Nothing fell on it. (If I can easily figure how to post a pic, I will. Or if someone is dying to post one for me, PM me your phone #/email and you can post it for me.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/2 "2025-02-06T18:45:14Z")
Is there a cat in the household? Also, I think this will be a better fit for #In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/3 "2025-02-06T18:46:17Z")
It’s made with tempered glass. That glass is cooled with built-in stresses, and is very strong - until it is damaged. Then it disintegrates into little cubes. Likely that the glass got scratched with a piece of grit, and that eventually caused a crack which propagated to an entire failure. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/4 "2025-02-06T18:48:56Z")
Right. If it is too rigidly attached to the body of the scale a change in temperature can cause a piece of tempered glass to break apart like that. That would usually require some small defect to exist as you noted. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/5 "2025-02-06T18:53:30Z")
No cats. The dog was lying on the couch in the same room as I. I’m fine with wherever you put it - but I was hoping for serious explanations as might occur in GQ, rather than some of the - uh - silliness that might occur in IMHO. I wonder when the glass got damaged by what “grit”, and what led it to shatter at this point. To be accurate, the frame was plastic, not metal, and the sticker said “Digital Scale.” Many of the little cubes were attached together - apparently to some sort of coating/backing. But they separated when I tried to pick them up. I repeat, there have been no major changes in temp in that room for the past decade. Off hand, I’d say it has never gotten below 60 or above 85 - and those extremes only rarely and not recently. Once damaged, this sort of failure just occurs spontaneously? I would be less surprised if it happened when I stood on it. Or if the interior temps/humidity had changed drastically recently. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/6 "2025-02-06T18:55:20Z")
> **[Spontaneous Glass Breakage - Tempered Glass Break Pattern](https://mccoymart.com/post/spontaneous-breakages-in-tempered-glass/)** > > Spontaneous glass breakage is a situation where the tempered glass breaks without provocation. Learning tempered glass break patterns to understand the causes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/7 "2025-02-06T18:55:35Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m fine with wherever you put it - but I was hoping for serious explanations as might occur in GQ, rather than some of the - uh - silliness that might occur in IMHO. I think the only responses any of can give are speculative, so there’s no way for us to provide a factual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/8 "2025-02-06T18:57:06Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m fine with wherever you put it - but I was hoping for serious explanations as might occur in GQ, rather than some of the - uh - silliness that might occur in IMHO. Too late: [Ella Fitzgerald strikes again!](https://youtu.be/KeeuT3ciqpI?si=qrgyU_XdGrcUXVjt) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/9 "2025-02-06T19:08:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think the only responses any of can give are speculative, so there’s no way for us to provide a factual answer. Well, the responses immediately above your post are far more factual than the one immediately below. And your response seems more related to mod actions than answering the question I asked. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/10 "2025-02-06T19:10:24Z")
Ceramic tile floor ? Known issue with those and tempered glass computer cases, so same thing here ? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/11 "2025-02-06T19:11:38Z")
That is exactly what it looked like. If I had read this before I cleaned it up, I woulda looked for any apparent pattern. (And now I know far more about tempered glass and NiS inclusions than I ever cared to know, or will even know after tomorrow.) Ignorance fought. Mods, please close this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/12 "2025-02-06T19:11:57Z")
Hardwood. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/13 "2025-02-06T20:09:02Z")
Different material, but I’ve also had a Pyrex baking dish explode in my hand. I was roasting tomatillos and pulled it out of the oven. Tomatillos release a good amount of liquid and when I rotated, that liquid moved to a dry part of the dish and must’ve changed the temp to change enough to set off the explosion. Gave me quite a shock! ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/14 "2025-02-06T20:20:36Z")
And props to the OP for the phrase, “[it] shattered such that it did not create sharp shards.” ---
**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:** [February 6, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/15 "2025-02-06T20:20:40Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Different material, but I’ve also had a Pyrex baking dish explode in my hand. Pyrex is also tempered glass. Older versions of it were more heat resistant than they are now. They originally were made of borosilicate glass up to the 1950s, since then they use less durable soda-lime glass. It’s possible some more recent changes in manufacturing are resulting in more failures but I haven’t seen anything conclusive about that. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/16 "2025-02-06T20:21:25Z")
> [@jacobsta811](#): > > Ceramic tile floor ? Known issue with those and tempered glass computer cases, so same thing here ? Huh? What weird science is this? Cite please. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/17 "2025-02-06T20:30:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Pyrex is also tempered glass Ah, did not know that. I thought they were still the borosilicate glass. I have personal experience that they can violently explode, particularly if scratched up. I am more careful with them now. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/18 "2025-02-06T21:20:07Z")
On Amazon, you can buy glass baking dishes that are still borosilicate glass, though they’re not Pyrex brand. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/19 "2025-02-06T21:55:27Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > No cats. The dog was lying on the couch in the same room as I. [In b4 the lock] I woke up in my Florida house early one morning to the sound of what sounded like an animal in my bathtub-it sounded like its claws were scraping against the ceramic of the tub… I got my revolver out and slowly edged into the bathroom. My black lab dog tho wasn’t reacting like it was an animal or such, but looked rather sheepish and embarrassed… I went in, and one of the sliding glass panels (it was a weird double bathroom one tub two toilets and sinks, tub had 2 such panels) had completely shattered, and the scraping sound was from the little bits of glass sliding down the tub. After gathering my wits about me, I concluded that my dog had been sleeping in there (nice and cool for warm Florida nights), must have gotten out and somehow hit it just right to cause it to shatter like that. I consoled him and told him he wasn’t in trouble and proceeded to pick up all the glass. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965/20 "2025-02-06T22:27:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They originally were made of borosilicate glass up to the 1950s, since then they use less durable soda-lime glass. Anyone know why that is? Environmental concerns, or cheaper manufacturing process, or … ? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-an-electric-scale-explode/1013965.md?page=2)