Michiganders, Watch Out For These Small Explosions From Your Fizzy Water

We all know that water freezes, and not to leave it in the freezer or your car overnight (if it's especially cold outside). But, it doesn't have to be that cold out for your fizzy water to explode.

As Michiganders, you've probably heard of, or have, a "beer fridge". A refrigerator that lives in the garage to hold beer, pop, and spill over from the main fridge. We are lucky enough to have been gifted one of those fridges and it lives in our garage.

Read Related: Why Michiganders Should Be Keeping a Quarter in Their Freezer

If you have a fridge that lives in the garage during a Michigan winter, this is your warning;

The hubby went to get a fizzy water from the beer fridge the other night, and all he did was pick up the can from the shelf, and it exploded in his hand. He did hurt his hand some and lost his hearing for a bit, but thankfully he's fine.

How did this happen?

The rest of the fridge wasn't full of exploded pop and water cans, so what happened to this one?

Turns out, it doesn't have to be super cold for carbonated drinks to freeze and explode. They can explode due to "supercooling" or "snap freezing". That's when the the liquid is sitting right at the freezing point but hasn't yet completely froze. That sudden movement of the can jostles the molecules to immediately crystalize, and Bob's your uncle... what was liquid is now immediately frozen and is trapped within the tiny confines of a metal can... it has nowhere to go but out, and you've got a small explosion on your hands, literally.

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Keep in mind, the fridge was set to its warmest setting. The fizzy water wasn't in the freezer or left out to the elements.

Just be careful the next time you pull a carbonated drink out of the fridge in the garage, Michiganders.