This is a true story. I am not proud of this occurrence. I actually do feel quite idiotic about it. I do, however, feel it is my duty to share with you the dangers of soda pop; specifically those in 2 litre bottles. Please, heed my advice and make sure you share this with family, friends, and anyone else you see buying such a bottle. You could help prevent such trauma entering their lives.
It all began one winter evening. I was sitting in the living room watching tv. Waldo and Lucy (my dogs) were snuggled up beside me. I had just finished making some homemade chicken soup from scratch. I had turned the heat down to minimum under the pot so that it could happily simmer for a couple of hours. The house was already smelling good. It was nice to sit back and relax and enjoy some quiet time. Wiseguy was working the night shift. No kids were in the house. Peace and quiet reigned…until IT happened!
I heard a gunshot come from the direction of my kitchen. I screamed out loud! My heart was pounding. I walked cautiously toward the kitchen entranceway; I was alone and afraid. I stood in the doorway…my mouth agape. I was in shock. I couldn’t move. My eyes slowly moved around the scene in the kitchen, trying to compute what had happened. What HAD happened?
This is what I saw as I looked around the room: My walls and cupboards were covered in something brownish. I looked at the pot on the stove. The lid was slightly askew to allow steam to escape, but no evidence of an explosion. I saw my floor covered in brown liquid as well. Where had it come from? Suddenly I saw drops coming from the ceiling. I looked upwards…GASP!!!! There were brown droplets falling from my now-brown-previously-white ceiling. What had HAPPENED!!?? My brain could not compute it. Then, as if guided by a higher power, my eyes locked onto the culprit.
You have probably already figured out what transpired. If not, here is the play by play.
- Soup pot simmering.
- Two litre, plastic Pepsi bottle a foot away from the stove; new…unopened.
- Pepsi bottle was slowly being heated; refer to #1 in play by play.
- Pepsi bottle no longer had room for expansion.
- BANG!!! Explosion of said Pepsi bottle.
- There was about an inch of that beverage left in the bottle…the rest was catapulted into the ceiling and dispersed ungraciously all over my counters, stove, fridge, windows, blinds, floor, table, coffee maker, toaster, dishwasher, etc.
- Meltdown…no…not the bottle; I crumpled to the floor in the hallway in shocked bewilderment.
- I whimpered.
- I felt a small body brush up beside me. CRAP! The dogs were trying to get into the kitchen!
- I hollered, “NOOOOOOOOOO!” at the dogs who then proceeded to back off.
So…where would you begin the mind-boggling clean up? Floor? Just watch out for the Pepsi drops from the sky. Ceiling? Yes, you could start there, but how do you get to the ceiling without stepping into one of the puddles on the floor? How about counters? Cupboards? Fridge? What would be the best plan of attack to wash up a room, literally, sprayed in soda pop. Yes, quite the conundrum.
Where did I start? I don’t know. I honestly don’t recall. I believe I was so traumatized by it, that I erased the actual cleanup from memory. I tend to have sketchy thoughts about towels on the floor and a step stool to reach the ceiling, but it’s all kind of muddled; dream/nightmare or reality. Not sure. For weeks and many, many months after that “cleanup” I would find sticky spots somewhere in the kitchen. Oh, it had spattered into the hallway too. I learned that when my foot stuck to the floor. I’d open a cupboard to pull out a plate and find brown spots on it. Just when I would think it was all gone, I would find evidence of it somewhere else. Years later, when we decided to renovate our kitchen, we pulled out the fridge and the stove and guess what we found? A Rorschach test of that spiteful drink. After washing that wall, and covering it with tiles I can finally say that I have never seen another spot of Pepsi in the kitchen. That was the end of the nightmarish soda fountain episode.
The one other part of this true-life horror story is really the irony of the whole situation. You see, I don’t drink pop. I can’t stand the stuff. When I was younger and used to drink it, I actually preferred Sprite or 7Up…bubbly and clear liquids! Ironic right? I had a volcano of brownish sugar-beverage all over my kitchen and I never even drank it.
I learned a valuable lesson that evening and I urge you to share this knowledge…for safety’s sake. I no longer buy two litre bottles of pop. No more large, plastic potential bombs in my humble abode.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin
I prefer to purchase the lovely, aluminum can versions of pop. For safety reasons, these sugar drinks are stashed away inside the fridge at all time…far, far away from any and all sources of heat.
Moral of the story: Soda pop can be hazardous to your health…especially your mental health.
Maryann's Life 