One man’s unfortunate experience in Missouri is a good reminder that we should never underestimate the sun’s power, as it can even melt a Jeep. For clarification, the Jeep itself didn’t just disintegrate into a puddle. It was mainly the vehicle’s interior that burned up. What happened is that Reddit user Jagerin_mikado had a Jeep in the shop to fix its retractable sunroof, but more than the roof would need to be fixed after this visit.
In his post on r/mildlyinfuriating, Jagerin_mikado says that, while the Jeep was out in the parking lot, he placed a protective wrap over the roof to keep rain, animals, and the like out. One day, it did end up raining, but the pools of water that accumulated atop the wrap didn’t evaporate the following day, when temperatures hit a scorching 100°F. “The sun shines through the water and the water basically magnifies it, and the sun turns into a laser that melts the interior,” explained Jagerin_mikado.
People who’ve played around with a magnifying glass during sunny weather will probably understand how this could have happened. While it would have been cool yet terrifying for the sun to laserbeam the inside of the Jeep in a short time, Jagerin_mikado said this took place over several days. “Now we have to replace everything that melted. None of us have ever heard of this happening before,” he recalled in shock.
Over half a 100K people on Reddit couldn’t believe the sight either, as the post went rather viral on the platform. “Of all the ways a Jeep can catch fire, this is the first time I have seen this happen,” remarked a commenter. “Very lucky the entire car didn’t catch on fire,” added another. “That sucks!! But optical physics rocks!” exclaimed a third.
The Missouri Auto Shop Was Awaiting a Specific Replacement Part While the Jeep Melted
Jagerin_mikado clarified that no one at the shop noticed what was happening to the Jeep over several days, as it was sitting in the parking lot, and no one bothered to check on it. The reason for the wait was that they were waiting for a part to come in to repair the sunroof. As for the owner’s reaction to what happened, Jagerin_mikado chuckled with relief, “Hah no I didn’t have to make that call. I don’t imagine it went well though.”
As one thoughtful Redditor put it, some might criticize the auto shop worker for not being more responsible with a client’s car. However, as they put it aptly, it’s “one of those things that the average person just isn’t going to think about very often, until they’re the unlucky one it happens to.” In other words, the stars in Missouri aligned for this Jeep in the worst way possible, or the sun aligned, for that matter.
