Dangers of Microwaving Your Sponge

+ CNN reports new reports about a study that found microwave ovens can be used to sterilize kitchen sponges sent people hurrying to test the idea this week -- with sometimes disastrous results. This knowledge has been floating around for a while. But apparently the folks at the university had left out one key component to not burning down your home while killing off sponge germs - wet the thing before nuking!

The university issued the following advisory: "To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot."