Stan Horwitz wrote:

> I suspect the bottle had some microorganisms in it and they blossomed
> after the bottle was re-corked. As the microorganisms grew, they
> generated gas, just like yeast does when it gets warm. The gas probably
> built up to a sufficient degree to pop the bottle.

And what would those micro-organisms be eating? Yeast eats sugar to produce
alcohol and carbon dioxide, but it stops when the alcohol content gets too high or
when it runs out of sugar.

I am inclined to go along with the cat theory. If the glass is all on the floor and
not on the counter it was probably knocked there.

Dave Smith wrote:
> Stan Horwitz wrote:
>
>> I suspect the bottle had some microorganisms in it and they blossomed
>> after the bottle was re-corked. As the microorganisms grew, they
>> generated gas, just like yeast does when it gets warm. The gas
>> probably
>> built up to a sufficient degree to pop the bottle.
>
> And what would those micro-organisms be eating? Yeast eats sugar to
> produce alcohol and carbon dioxide, but it stops when the alcohol
> content gets too high or when it runs out of sugar.
>
> I am inclined to go along with the cat theory. If the glass is all on
> the floor and not on the counter it was probably knocked there.

The bottle was on the floor to begin with. And Persia is an unusual cat -
she doesn't jump on counters or tables. Never even messes with my computer


Jill

In article >,
Dave Smith > wrote:

> Stan Horwitz wrote:
>
> > I suspect the bottle had some microorganisms in it and they blossomed
> > after the bottle was re-corked. As the microorganisms grew, they
> > generated gas, just like yeast does when it gets warm. The gas probably
> > built up to a sufficient degree to pop the bottle.
>
> And what would those micro-organisms be eating? Yeast eats sugar to produce
> alcohol and carbon dioxide, but it stops when the alcohol content gets too
> high or when it runs out of sugar.

They would be eating the remaining liquid in the bottle. Unless Jill
thoroughly washed out that wine bottle before she replaced the cork on
it, there was still likely an ample supply of food in it.

> I am inclined to go along with the cat theory. If the glass is all on the
> floor and not on the counter it was probably knocked there.

The cat might be a possibility too.

Stan Horwitz wrote:
> In article >,
> Dave Smith > wrote:
>
>> Stan Horwitz wrote:
>>
>>> I suspect the bottle had some microorganisms in it and they
>>> blossomed after the bottle was re-corked. As the microorganisms
>>> grew, they generated gas, just like yeast does when it gets warm.
>>> The gas probably built up to a sufficient degree to pop the bottle.
>>
>> And what would those micro-organisms be eating? Yeast eats sugar to
>> produce alcohol and carbon dioxide, but it stops when the alcohol
>> content gets too high or when it runs out of sugar.
>
> They would be eating the remaining liquid in the bottle. Unless Jill
> thoroughly washed out that wine bottle before she replaced the cork on
> it, there was still likely an ample supply of food in it.
>
>> I am inclined to go along with the cat theory. If the glass is all
>> on the floor and not on the counter it was probably knocked there.
>
> The cat might be a possibility too.

I'm telling you, Persia was not near the bottle when it exploded! She
jumped higher than I did when we heard the sound. In fact, at first I
thought someone had thrown a brick through my glass-front door when I heard
the sound. I think it's probably an odd case of the aforementioned
microorganisms because I sure didn't wash the bottle. And possibly the
bottle was in some way defective. And yes, the cork was one of those
newfangled rubbery ones.

Jill