SC - Dangers of pressure cookers

[Patrick Hood]

They are a tool and like all tools have inherent dangers.  They were used in
NYC as bombs in the late seventies because they were hard to xray and made
very good casings.  (My dad was in the 42, bronx).  They work by keeping
water molecules from boiling away as steam.  In this way water can be
superheated to tempereatures in excess of three hundred degrees.

Are they fairly safe as long as you follow common sense?  Yes, in fact the
most common problem with them is the pressure valve jamming as they cool off
causeing the inside pressure to fall below the outside air pressure leading
to vapor lock.  Which results in you not being able to open it until you
heat it back up and unclog the valve or drill a small hole through the top.
(Reheating is also dangerous if done quickly as you are now pressurising a
sealed vessel.)  Try one, you'll like it, just don't cool it quickly or
under pressure.