The Blanda blank.
The Blanda blank. Courtesy Ikea

At first glance, the Ikea Blanda blank” bowl looks like a normal piece of tableware. It’s stainless steel, and big enough to hold a salad for four—you know, bowl-sized. It’s even called the “Blanda blank,” for God’s sake.

But based on the experiences of a snacker from Sweden, at least one Blanda blank out there has developed an unusual hobby: setting things on fire.

According to Aftonbladet, as translated by the Local, at some point over the unusually hot weekend, Richard Walter put a bunch of grapes into his Ikea bowl and brought it out into the sunshine. He quickly smelled smoke. When he looked down at his grapes, they were aflame.

Walter blamed the mirrored bowl: “There was one intense point where [the sun] hit the twigs,” he said. “That’s where it started.”

He then set a piece of newspaper on fire by putting it in the bowl, as shown in the video above.

Ikea told the Local they will be performing their own tests on the Blanda blank. In the meantime, be careful, everyone.

Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that’s only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to cara@atlasobscura.com.