Dear All,
An important topic to learn.

A 26-year old person decided to have a cup of coffee. He took a cup of
water and put it in the microwave to heat it up (something that he had
done
numerous times before). I am not sure how long he set the timer for, but he
told me he wanted to bring the water to a boil. When the timer shut the
oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup, he
noted that the water was not boiling, but instantly the water in the cup
"blew up" into his face. The cup remained intact until he threw it out of
his hand but all the water had flown out into his face due to the build up
of energy. His whole face is blistered and he has 1st and 2nd degree burns
to his face which may leave scarring. He also may have lost partial sight
in his left eye. While at the hospital, the doctor who was attending to him
stated that this is fairly common occurrence and water (alone) should never
be heated in a microwave oven. If water is heated in this manner,
something
should be placed in the cup to diffuse the energy such as: a wooden stir
stick, tea bag, etc. It is however a much safer choice to boil the water
in
a tea kettle.
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General Electric's response:

Thanks for contacting us. I will be happy to assist you. The e-mail that
you received is correct. Microwaved water and other liquids do not always
bubble when they reach the boiling point. They can actually get
superheated
and not bubble at all. The superheated liquid will bubble up out of the cup
when it is moved or when something like a spoon or tea bag is put into it.
To prevent this from happening and causing injury, do not heat any liquid
for more than two minutes per cup. After heating, let the cup stand in the
microwave for thirty seconds before moving it or adding anything into it.

If you pass this on ... you could very well save someone from a lot of
pain and suffering