6 Kinds of Microwave Mysteries

“Magnetron,” is not a character from “The Transformers,” but actually, it’s the technology that manipulates electrons with a magnetic field, which is widely used in the military forces. It’s been particularly used in radars for anti-submarine aircrafts. Since the late 60’s, we’ve used this technology in our households as a machine called microwave oven (or microwave)! Microwaves have been such saviors in the kitchen for decades that we have failed to take note of some of their mysterious activities. Here are the top 6 kinds of microwave mysteries.

1. The Final Countdown

Microwaves have spoiled us over the years with their ability to cook food instantly; we expect the food to come out as soon as we press the button. It has come to a point where any additional second drives us insane. I’m talking about the final countdown beeps of the microwaves. I get it; it has to notify me when the cooking is completed. But why does it have to notify me so many times?

And why are the intervals between the beeps much longer than a second? With those final three beeps, I can bring the food to the table, turn on my TV, take a picture of it, upload it on my facebook, check for comments and finally take a bite of it! Oh wait, I might not be supposed to stay in front of it the whole time… Maybe, I just need to sign up for a meditation class.

2. Unsettling Popping Sound

I’m sure this has freaked many people out; the mysterious and intimidating popping sound of the microwave. Sometimes it makes the popping noise after few seconds of running it. But when you check it, the food is not ready and it seems like there is nothing wrong with the microwave. I’ve done my investigations and discovered some possible reasons for why the microwave is making popping noises or arcing.

– You have food spills/stains inside your microwave.

– The food you are cooking has a high fat content.

– There’s metallic material inside the microwave.

Please do be advised that if the popping noise sounds electrical or mechanical, or the microwave looks burnt inside, you need to get it checked.

3. The Cooking Time Logic

If 5 taquitos take 2 minutes to cook in the microwave, shouldn’t I able be able cook 15 taquitos in 6 minutes? 5:2 = 15:x then x equals 6. This is a very sound equation with no mathematical error. Since a microwave operates on sound scientific principles, the language of science should work, right? However, it never seems to work that way. It is a mystery that can’t be solved with common sense of math.

I’m no scientist, but I’m assuming that it has to do with how thoroughly the microwave’s heat can penetrate each item. Sometimes, I get help from the back of the food package when it gives instructions for cooking multiple items at once. For example, different cooking times for 5, 10 and 20 taquitos. But what if I want 13 and a half taquitos? How long should I run it for? Microwaves should be able to take this into consideration and, nowadays there are microwaves that can do that, which brings us to the next part.

4. Cooking Modes (This feature actually works!!!)

Even if the microwave is an ancient model, it might have modes to cook certain types of food, such as pizzas or baked potatoes. For a long time these modes or options have been a mystery. You have the options to use it, but do you?

For some reason you are very skeptical about it, because you don’t think the microwave is smart enough to sense what you want to cook and how you want to cook it. You wondered why it even has the options, because the chance is that you’ve probably never tried it; so it shall always remain as mystery. However, if you have one of the recent models, these options are amazingly credible and convenient; some models even have a fermentation mode! If you have one of these, you don’t need a cooking class anymore!

5. Taste

Personally, this is the biggest microwave mystery of all time. When everything goes as planned, food from the microwave tastes so good. People argue that it tastes good not because of the quality of food, but rather because of the convenience or the timing that makes the experience better.

Fair argument, I would say; convenience is definitely the main perk of using a microwave, but as I mentioned, the recent microwave models can do amazing things. They can grill, bake and fry food without oil. No one is saying microwaved food tastes better than food prepared otherwise; it would be unwise to argue against that (and your mother might not invite you for the next holiday dinner!). But microwaved Chinese food or pizza on a Sunday morning can taste so victorious, sometimes better than the original! If you ask me, this is still a mystery.

6. Things That Will Explode in Microwave

Growing up as a curious kid, we’ve all had that phase where we were fascinated with explosions, such as the water rocket or shaken bottle of soda. Our parents used to warn us to not put certain things in the microwave, because they will explode, which stimulated our curiosity even more. Do you remember those forbidden things? Here is a list within a list for you, 6 kinds of things that will explode in the microwave! I’m not your parent, but I must warn you, don’t try it at home!

1. Eggs

2. Grapes

3. Soaps

4. Marshmallows

5. Batteries

6. Soda cans

If you have anything to share regarding the things we should not put in the microwave or microwave mysteries, feel free to make a comment in the section below.

Related Articles:

6 Kinds of Unacceptable Refrigerators

6 Kinds of Thing You Wash and Regret

6 Kinds of Ill-timed Phone Calls

6 Kinds of Photo You Had Enough of 

6 Kinds of Texting You Should Avoid

Written by ASyk

* I must acknowledge couple things, because I do not want to get in trouble. Views expressed above are individual opinions and do not represent that of Samsung Electronics, but you already know that. It just a casual piece with no seriousness attached to it.

For example, we all know that the ‘final countdown’ beeps are very useful, especially, if you are away from the microwave. I, ASyk, is also aware of the fact that many people actually use the ‘cooking modes’ of the microwave, and use them really well. It is a very helpful option when you use it. By the way, I actually had no idea that eggs and grapes are so dangerous when you run them in the microwave, but my mom told me about this (and also told me that I should have studied harder) I just hope you enjoyed the article. Yay for microwave!