Woman Issues Warning After Nearly Losing Finger Opening Kombucha Bottle

A woman has advised others to approach a bottle of kombucha with caution if it has been refrigerated for a long time, as hers had.

Morgan Bailey, 32, had a large glass bottle of the fermented and sweetened black tea in her fridge for three months before deciding to drink it. However, she didn't even manage to take a sip.

Bailey, who lives in Mexico City, told Newsweek: "The second my hand touched the bottle it exploded."

On January 21, the marketing executive shared a warning on TikTok under the user name (@morganlaubailey) that has racked up 7.9 million views.

Screenshots from TikTok
Two screenshots from the viral video showing Bailey's hand in a cast. She has warned others that a bottle of the fermented black tea "will blow up." TikTok/@morganlaubailey

The footage shows Bailey sitting down and speaking to the camera while holding her hand with a black cast on for all to see.

She says: "This is a friendly reminder that if you have kombucha in your refrigerator and it's been kind of a long time. Don't touch it."

She suggests wearing oven mitts and protective eye goggles because "it will blow up."

Bailey told Newsweek that the freak accident happened on January 19.

She explained: "It was a pretty large glass bottle and the pressure caused the glass to shatter and cut in between my middle and ring finger and down my palm.

"My hand is not broken, but I had to get stitches and keep my hand wrapped for two weeks.

"The cast is to protect the stitches and reduce movement in the fingers impacted. Because the stitches are in between my fingers and down my palm, moving in any way causes the skin to stretch where the stitches are."

The video is captioned: "Not sure what kombucha has against me, but... my wedding [ring] saved my finger though,"

She told Newsweek: "My ring stopped the glass from going deeper into my ring finger—it would've been a lot worse had I not been wearing it."

Bailey explained that she had forgotten about the store-bought drink as she has been preoccupied with her new puppy. But she never expected to sustain an injury when she finally decided to have some.

So far, the video has sent the internet into a frenzy and amassed over 447,000 likes and almost 3,500 comments.

One user said: "Also a friendly reminder to check your car for lost kombucha in the winter....it will explode all over your car. Bonus points if there's chia seeds."

"Another reason to avoid kombucha," said another comment with 26,200 likes.

"PLEASE explain, because I have a can of it and I'm scared for my life now," said a third comment.

If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work and your story could be featured on Newsweek's "What Should I Do? section.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human ... Read more

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