After hearing the crash, my holler and ascertaining no one was hurt, Andrew’s only comment was, “Make sure everyone understands I’m not responsible.”
Okay. For the record, Andrew’s not responsible.
Not exactly the exoneration he’s looking for. Allow me to clarify, Andrew didn’t break the dish pictured above. I did.
This is what’s left of a Corelle Livingware plate that fell four feet from a bureau onto a hardwood floor. You’d expect a bounce, a chip, or maybe even a clean break, but this piece of dinnerware exploded. Shards of patented, laminated glass flew a good 12 feet, working their way under the piano, into Andrew’s nearby office and across two area rugs. Three days later, I’m still vacuuming up beige splinters, and I’ve no idea where they’ve been hiding.
Now, I can’t blame the good people at Corelle for a faulty product. These plates are at least two decades old, well past their 3-year warranty. But even my great-aunt’s fine bone china wouldn’t have left this kind of mess.
I’m either very strong, or these plates have a not-so-sweet spot that, once tapped, unleashes the pent-up energy of all previous bumps and bangs. With my wimpy wrists the first option is unlikely. So, was this a fluke or has anyone else had a brush with ‘chip-resistant” shrapnel?
“Someone” set my glass pyrex 9×13 baking dish onto a burner on our old electric stove, not knowing the burner was on. A while later, kaPOW! It exploded, sending chunks of Pyrex glass everwhere, and actually burning the hardwood floor wherever the shards landed. Real, black burn marks. A permanent reminder.
Remarkably, no lasagne was harmed in the incident. The pan was empty.
- JJ
Hard to believe that’s just one plate – it looks like a full place setting!
Nope, it’s not a fluke. We break Corelle dishes just as easily as other dishes around here. I thought Corelle would be better with all the kids, but that mess, and the horrible teeny tiny shards of broken glass, is standard. At least “real” plates break in large manageable pieces.
We had a corelle plate sitting on the kitchen counter one afternoon while I, my husband and father in law were installing the hardwood floor in the kitchen. (I own a chopsaw and know how to use it…) There must have been something in the frequency of the compressor, because the plate exploded, sending Corelle shrapnel all over the kitchen.
We’ve shattered a couple since, but not in so dramatic a fashion.
I like that eye-level picture but am concerned for your safety. How you managed to get that low to capture the shot without impaling yourself on bits of glass is beyond me.
Tell the cat to be careful!
Shattered glass is no picnic. Wear shoes for a while. I had the Pyrex experience JJ above had. Scared the dickens out of me.
JJ, I’ve heard that kaPOW before but didn’t burn the floor. I think you win the prize for Most Peripheral Damage. Some prize.
Dana, yes, it was ONE plate. The mess was so large it took me a while to figure out what had broken.
Laura, this is our first Corelle piece to break. Seeing the damage, I think I’d rather take my chances with “real” china. Who knew?
DivaLisa, wow! Was anyone hurt? That sounds downright dangerous. Prize awarded to you for Most Dramatic Breakage. Commiserate with JJ, the other prize winner.
Cheryl, I took that shot in a very cautious but awkward crouch. One shot and then it was a rush to clean up. Fortunately, the sound scared the cats. My first thought after “What the heck did I break?” was “Keep the cats away!”
Lisa Magicsprinkles, we have been wearing shoes and vacuuming daily. I swear, this stuff is like something out of a horror flick, creeping out from between the floor boards at night.
Scary! You know those hard plastic bowls our moms used to make cakes? The ones with the blurry, funky patterns?
I had a college professor who dropped one. It broke AND bounced back up, and the darn shard sliced all kinds of connective tissue in his hand.
Corelle is interesting that way. We’ve dropped it at times, and normally it does bounce. But one unfortunate landed on ceramic tile, with the expected and unfortunate results. Kind of like the baked potato that blew up in my propane range this evening at supper. And I do mean blew up! I shoulda taken a picture.
We also have corelle plates that are ages old (like I ate off of them when I was a kid) and they do explode when dropped. I was really shocked the first time.
Roxanne, you win Scariest Story. Yikes!
Jodi, my sister had a potato explode in the microwave once. It blew the door open and sent innards flying. Of course, I was standing by the microwave when it happened and hit the floor like they tell you to do during a nuclear attack. She still laughs over this. I do not.
Katie, I’m so surprised Corelle doesn’t issue a warning. And just last night I walked through the living room in my bare feet and found a shard — with my sole. Had to remove it with tweezers and it bled quite profusely. Honestly, a warning label of some kind is needed.