Kicker: A real tearjerker

NICK EICHER, HOST: OK, this story will likely bring, well, some kind of reaction that you might mistake for emotion.

You be the judge.

First of all, no one was hurt. But a trailer caught fire on a Florida highway this week loaded with three tons of onions. 6,000 pounds.

That’s enough to bring tears to your eyes, right?

You may have wondered why onions produce such a reaction.

It’s because they emit a chemical irritant known as syn-Propanethial-S-oxide, which can irritate the nerves around your eyes.

Anyway, when fire crews arrived, the trailer was fully engulfed. Those onions were really caramelizing and the firefighters doused the flames. And the only person in tears had to be the driver—at a dollar a pound, do the math, yikes.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: OK, this story will likely bring, well, some kind of reaction that you might mistake for emotion.

You be the judge.

First of all, no one was hurt. But a trailer caught fire on a Florida highway this week loaded with three tons of onions. 6,000 pounds.

That’s enough to bring tears to your eyes, right?

You may have wondered why onions produce such a reaction.

It’s because they emit a chemical irritant known as syn-Propanethial-S-oxide, which can irritate the nerves around your eyes.

Anyway, when fire crews arrived, the trailer was fully engulfed. Those onions were really caramelizing and the firefighters doused the flames. And the only person in tears had to be the driver—at a dollar a pound, do the math, yikes.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.