Can of dry shampoo explodes in hot car, breaking sunroof

Let this be a reminder not to leave aerosol cans in your vehicle.

A 19-year-old in St. Louis, Missouri, returned to her car after leaving it parked in the sun last Thursday to find that a can of dry shampoo had exploded inside, blowing a hole through her sunroof. At the time of the incident, the can was in the car's middle console, and the console's lid was closed.

The woman's mother, Christine Bader Debrecht, detailed the harrowing experience in a Facebook post. "[The can] blew the console cover off of its hinges, shot through the sunroof, and went high enough in the air that it landed about 50 feet away," she wrote. "Please don't leave aerosol cans in your car!"

Many aerosol cans have warnings on their labels telling users not to leave them in environments above 120 degrees. Explosions are a risk with any kind of pressurized container — Silly String, hairspray, whipped cream — exposed to high temperatures: When the can heats up, the pressure inside it increases, potentially to the point where its contents can no longer be contained.

Moral of the story: Just apply your dry shampoo at home! It seems deeply unpleasant to spray that stuff inside your car anyway.