Islander's scales spontaneously explode

Monday 27 April 2020

A 24-year-old islander was lucky to be out of the room when his bathroom scales spontaneously exploded.

James Logue bought the Salter scales about four years ago and said he never had any issues with them.

The St. Helier resident told Express he didn’t use them regularly, at most once a week, sometimes going a few weeks without using them once.

However, on Saturday afternoon (25 April), James was very suddenly and loudly reminded of their presence when they shattered without warning - despite nothing falling on them.

Pictured: James had the scales for four years before they shattered.

“The sound was extremely loud and similar to that of smashing pottery. It didn't sound like a glass smashing on the floor, but more of a deeper frequency,” he explained.

“It was very sudden and short-lasting. I ran downstairs thinking that something in the house had collapsed, but couldn't find what.”

James eventually found the source of the commotion and was “completely shocked” to realise it was the scales.

Pictured: James said he had never had any issues with the scales before.

“Up to this point, it was just a reliable, consistent scale that I wouldn't think twice about stepping on barefoot in the morning!” he said. 

“My initial thought was that something must have fallen on it, but the way the glass had shattered and spread made it clear this wasn't the case.

“There was nothing on the floor except for the fragments, and nothing even remotely heavy was ever stored above it.”

Pictured: James said he doesn't want to buy another set of glass scales.

Since the incident, James has contacted Salter’s support line.

While he is currently waiting for a response, he says he won't be rushing to buy another set of glass scales anytime soon.

“The shock has definitely put me off buying another set of glass scales!” he said. “I don't want this 'overweight ghost' to cause any more damage than he/she already has!"

Though bizarre and uncommon, James isn't the only one to have experienced the shattering scales phenomenon.

In 2019, a New Zealand woman reported that her K-Mart version exploded. The same happened to a Sydney man in 2017, while a British woman fortunately avoided injury when it happened to her Aldi scales in 2016.

In fact, there have been dozens of similar reports involving tempered glass scales in the past decade - so many, that a US TV network decided to investigate, which you can watch below...