Exploding Artichoke Surprises Italy

A woman in northern Italy was shocked this week by a seemingly innocent artichoke that exploded in her hand like a spikey green grenade.

According to The Local, the woman had just purchased the artichokes at a local market and was slicing into one when it suddenly exploded. She was not injured, but the artichoke leaves were damaged and burned.

After the incident was reported to the police and the supermarket that had supplied the exploding artichoke, the supermarket pulled all the vegetables from sale just to be safe. Police are investigating the explosion, and at the moment one theory is that the explosion could have been caused by a reaction with a chemical fertilizer used on the artichoke.

As shocking as an exploding artichoke is, this is actually not the first instance to strike Italy. Exploding artichokes were reported in 2003 and 2008. When it happened in 2003, a woman told police that she was peeling her artichoke when it suddenly gave off sparks before catching fire and then exploding. No explosives were found in or around the artichoke, leading police to believe it might have been a weird but natural occurrence.