Most people have heard the story, usually imparted as a thing that "really happened to a friend of a friend," of the dotty grandma who tried to dry her damp poodle in the microwave. The dog exploded, sad to say, and Grandma has never been the same since. The story isn't true, of course; it's an urban legend circulating since the 1970s. It describes a mishap that could have happened, but we have no evidence, nor any good reason to believe, that it did. Plus, there's a moral: newfangled technologies, albeit a boon to humanity, can also be exceedingly dangerous when misused. It's a horror story with a point!