Getting a burst tire when out on the road is incredibly frustrating, requiring either a roadside fix or a recovery vehicle callout.
But sometimes the item that caused the blowout can lead to increased levels of irritation, as one Redditor experienced.
They posted a picture to the r/Justrolledintotheshop community of an "oddball" item that had embedded itself in the rubber.
"Mechanics brought it into the waiting room to show me, couldn't believe it," they captioned the post. "After examining the markings, it appears to be a vape pen."
Unfortunately, this isn't a unique instance. Other motorists have experienced the problem, too, curtailing journeys and requiring an unwanted bill to replace.
While burst tires are a problem, vaping devices bring issues of their own. According to the American Lung Association, e-cigarettes in the United States marketplace have not been properly investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means their impact on lung health has not been fully established.
However, there is already evidence about the damage inhaling vapor can do to your lungs over the long term. The American Lung Association cited research from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine that found e-cigarettes contain and release a number of toxic substances, including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. These can cause lung disease and increase the risk of heart disease.
Meanwhile, they have also been found to contain heavy metals like nickel, tin, and lead, as well as volatile organic compounds like benzene, which is typically released by car exhausts.
Asthma and lung cancer are among the other potential health risks of e-cigarettes.
But the items themselves are harmful, too. Aside from puncturing car tires, vape pens are typically made of plastic, which will persist in the environment if disposed of incorrectly and take decades to degrade. These can find their way to animal habitats and leach toxic chemicals into soil or water sources.
What's more, they also often contain a lithium-ion battery. Throwing vape pens away wastes the valuable metals contained in this technology, and it can also be a fire hazard.
Redditors shared similar stories of unusual items that they've seen burst a car's tire.
"I pulled a Pop brand disposable vape out of a customer's tire once," one user said. "Pretty odd."
"Many years ago I had to replace a tire after we pulled a broken socket wrench out of the sidewall," added another.
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