I was playing the XBox. Though technically I was supposed to be caring for my wife and three children, as my wife had just come out of surgery that day (she's so cool, though, and we were taking turns playing). Everyone asked about dinner, at which point I hopped up, threw the frozen lasagna into the oven, hit the timer for 40 minutes, and ran back to my game.
Only thing was, I had hit the Cook button on the microwave instead of the Dinner Timer button.
20 Minutes later, the smoke detector went off. I figured that I must have left the cardboard cover on the lasagna. So, I reluctantly get up from my game, only to discover that the microwave was on fire. Big Time. Bright, technicolor flames flickering through the smoked glass. Like something you would see on an alternative music video. Wish I had pictures of that moment.
Fortunately, I grabbed the fire ABC extinguisher instead of the camcorder. I opened the door, flinging burning, molten plastic across the kitchen like Greek Fire. Fortunately, the 5-year-old extinguisher had just enough pressure to put out the fire, and make a huge mess.
Then, as the flames died out, the glass door shattered from the heat difference. Once on the floor, it kept popping and breaking itself into smaller and smaller pieces, which was interesting to observe.
After about half an hour, the lasagna was ready, the house was free of smoke, and I could continue gaming.. err, watching the kids.
Moral A: If you set the microwave on fire in a rush to get back to your game, you'll end up pausing your game a lot longer than you would have if you had taken the time do to it right...
Moral B: Don't run the microwave with nothing in it. At least, not for 20 minutes.
Oh, I tagged the images so you would at least have some context... hover your mouse over to see them.
