Yahoo News Champagne Bottle Supposedly Exploded Due to 5G Phone Radiation. Here's the Truth
Claim:
A video authentically shows radiation from a 5G phone opening a Champagne bottle.
Rating:
A popular video supposedly shows how 5G phones can emit enough electromagnetic radiation to pop Champagne bottles. The clip, which was shared on X in June 2024 and Reddit in 2023, seemingly shows someone calling an iPhone sitting near the bottle, and the bottle of sparkling wine opening as the phone rings.
The X post, which has amassed more than 1.1 million views, has the caption, "5G phones emitting enough radiation to open a bottle of champagne."
(X user @RedpillDrifter)
However, the video was a hoax. 5G radiation did not cause the bottle to open.
YouTuber Ryan Tricks originally published the video on April 5, 2023. Tricks creates "mind-reading and magic videos," according to his YouTube bio. We reached out to him to learn how, exactly, he created the bottle-popping video, and we will update this report if he responds.
On Jan. 27, 2022, he posted a similar video with the same type of sparkling wine: Plaza Pink by Plaza Centro. In that video, he supposedly shows how carbon dioxide from a Coke can "transmits" to the wine bottle to make it "explode."
A different video on TikTok featured the same trick, supposedly showing a Champagne bottle popping from a ring of cellphones calling one another:
https://tiktok.com/@theneilhenry/video/7239765428082347290
While we know the 5G radiation claim was not real, the exact cause of these bottles opening without someone's hands was unknown. It was possible someone placed an item inside the bottles to make them fizz and explode, such as Mentos that can make Diet Coke similarly erupt.
We analyzed screenshots of the videos, frame by frame, and were unable to tell whether anything unusual was inside the bottles.
It was also possible that, before recording the videos, someone rigged the bottles. Hypothetically speaking, someone could have placed a device under the cork to make the bottles pop on their "own." In all of the above-mentioned videos, the protective wire "cages," or muselets, on the corks were removed before creators started recording.
The temperature of the bottles also could have been a factor. When not properly chilled, Champagne bottles can explode on their own, especially if the protective cages are gone. For example, a 2023 YouTube video shows a Champagne bottle popping on its own while a couple poses for wedding pictures:
A 2017 article from Town & Country Magazine explains why chilling champagne is important (emphasis ours):
The bottle of champagne or sparkling wine should be properly chilled to around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. If it isn't cold enough, the pressure inside the bottle will cause the cork to release very quickly. That's when you get a geyser and a dangerous projectile.
The 5G Claim Isn't Backed by Science
Cellphones emit electromagnetic radiation. That is a type of non-ionizing radiation that's not strong enough to make anything move or change in the emissions' pathways, including a Champagne bottle's cork.
Rather, the radiation can cause atoms to move or vibrate, and those changes can heat up surfaces of objects.
Stronger types of radiation directly affect the structure of atoms or damage DNA.
This is what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says about radiation from wireless devices:
Electronic devices that send information through the air are everywhere. Between Wi-Fi, cell phones and other networks, people are in a nearly constant cloud of wireless signals. These devices use RF energy to send and receive information.
In other words, wireless devices use RF energy — a type of non-ionizing radiation that can generate heat from atoms moving or vibrating. But that heat is negligible, and there's no evidence of it causing something like the alleged wine-bottle explosion.
In summary, the party trick featured in the above-mentioned videos could have been caused by many factors — but 5G cellphone radiation isn't one of them. For those reasons, we have labeled the claim "False."
Sources:
"How Steel Is Crucial to Champagne Making." Worldsteel.Org, 3 Dec. 2018, https://worldsteel.org/media/steel-stories/innovation/steel-crucial-muselet-champagne-business/.
How to Get Champagne for Free #shorts. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pqxqC4mnQ5M. Accessed 25 June 2024.
"How to Open a Bottle of Champagne the Right Way." Town & Country, 8 Nov. 2017, https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/news/a8690/how-to-open-a-bottle-of-champagne/.
RM Videos. Champagne Bottle Pops on Its Own on Couple's Wedding Day - 1391169. 2023. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqSLphdOWOQ.
The Cork EXPLODES by Itself 😱🤯 #shorts. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Smi13msraXs. Accessed 25 June 2024.
TikTok - Make Your Day. https://www.tiktok.com/@theneilhenry/video/7239765428082347290. Accessed 21 June 2024.
US EPA, OAR. Non-Ionizing Radiation From Wireless Technology. 26 Nov. 2018, https://www.epa.gov/radtown/non-ionizing-radiation-wireless-technology.
