A toilet in a historic bar in Barcelona exploded today in a freak accident, seriously injuring a woman who was about to use it.
The fire department reckons that a blockage caused a buildup of methane in the toilet. When the woman sat on the toilet, the methane started to accumulate in the bowl.
The explosion was caused by a faulty lightswitch – it sparked, and exploded the methane.
The woman suffered third degree burns to both legs, and large cuts from the exploding porcelain. The bar was in Barcelona’s historic Barri Gothic area, in calle Ample.
(The photo above is entirely gratuitous.)
This story has been widely reported in the English language media with no identifying details. It appears to have been going the rounds in one form of another since 1949 and is suspect for that reason if not for the fact that methane is lighter than air.
Perhaps you could check it out one way or another?
Pop into the bar I mention in the article and see if they have a brand new ladies toilet installed!