Exploding Champagne Bottle Puts Man in Coma

January 7, 2019 — A Danish man was trying to open a bottle of Champagne on New Year’s Eve by holding the bottle between his legs when it exploded.  A shard of glass cut an artery causing serious blood loss.  He was rushed to a hospital in Copenhagen where doctors induced a coma and his condition was described as critical.

It is unusual for the bottle itself to explode and the glass must have been faulty.  Injuries are usually caused by flying corks which are known to damage eyes and property if the bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine is not opened carefully.

The pressure in the bottle can be as high as 90 lbs psi (per square inch) and the cork becomes a projectile that can travel at 50 miles per hour.

Here is the general how to rule

Always point the bottle away from yourself and from people and things that break.  Make sure the bottle is well chilled and not shaken up.  If the bottle has been chilling in an ice bucket, dry it off.  Remove the foil carefully and with your thumb over the cork and the bottle tilted to about 45 degrees, untwist the wire cage until it is loose.  Leave the loose cage over the cork, hold the bottle in the other hand, and slowly twist the bottle, not the cork, counter clockwise until the cork eases out with a tiny hiss.  Keep your thumb on the cork the whole time.

See the above done on YouTube

There are a lot of really good videos on YouTube.  We liked this one (click here or on the pic below) although he does neglect to mention about pointing the bottle away from people, which is really important.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, lots of bottles of Champagne and sparkling wine will be popped so now’s a good time to bone up on how to open and enjoy all the lovely bubbles safely.

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