LR44 Button Battery Exploded sitting in a tray.

You guys now everything so best place to ask.
Had 3 LR44 quite fat button batteries out of a kid soft toy bought from the Hospice shop & almost flat, gave a bit of a moan of the few animal noises it makes. So hooked them out & drooped them in a large ornamental crockery spoon looking thingy on the top of the microwave--so crockery not stainless. Had a blown 100watt bulb sitting there too so steel around the base i guess. Anyway, late in the evening watching tv there was what we thought was a stone hitting the window, [very loudly like a cracker going off at close range] hearing aids probably accentuated it but wife flew out of the chair [we both did] pulling curtains back looking for whatever, then searched around not knowing what we're looking for. No smell of anything. In the morning wife stands on a battery in the kitchen [& it's blown the inside out]. What say Ye. It scared the bejeus out of us both. Have a container full of probably 100 used hearing aid batteries [container was supplies but only a little cardboard or plastic one. Should i be worried. Even if the batteries touched +to+ on two i can't see how it could complete the circuit--& only one battery of the three exploded. Can try for a pic if it helps but just the shell & a bit of stuff inside. Thanks in advance. ps, the 100w bulb sitting with them has the inside detatched & rattling around loudly & can see it through the flacking frosted glass. Never had that before either & thought the detaching happened at the same time with shock of the exploding battery beside it--but maybe not. Thanks.

do a google search for "LR44 battery explosion" or "LR44 battery exploded", plenty of stories and an explanation, usually one battery touching another will cause a reaction. Even a few youtube videos explaining, and showing what happens.

I have had this happen a couple of times, I didn't know what the loud 'snap' was, it was n another room.
But months & months later I found in a tray of laser pointer battery's, that 2 were empty , and put the two facts together.
At some point they must have touched, shorted out & exploded. Not at the same time though, I remember hearing the same sound twice quite some time apart.

But I have an Pringles container full ( 1 litre +?) of dead batterys and none have exploded yet.

Having accidentally sent a musical card through the log burner, they give off a decent series of explosions when burned.

As there is only a thin separation between positive and negative on top face, it would be real easy to short one out, easier still with a bunch of them thrown in together imo.

Those things are VERY cheaply made and full of toxic materials. Anything is possible. We get dead ones out of the house ASAP.

I have tried to make household batteries explode/burn including Lithium & laptop batteries.
Never succeeded yet.
Hammering/ spiking/ tying together/ running over etc etc.
Just can't seem to get it happening.

There seems to be a very specific set of circumstances to make it happen.
I used to store them in large drink bottles for recycling (when councils used to accept them) but all that did was create an acid smell inside the bottle

Thanks for the replies & your experiences. Just to push the button again i did a youtube search & most were people deliberately heating to get the result. Anyway forgot to say that these 3 out of a sewn up kids soft toy--so theoretically not replaceable. Cut the stitching & had a hell of a job pulling the batteries out of their retainer, in hindsight because they were swollen across the back & ready to pop--jammed in super tight. New ones went in easily as normal. So just measured them & a new one measures 5.25 [ok i dead shorted it briefly with the verniers i know] So 5.25mm then the old fat trying to explode ones [two left not exploded] measure 5.7mm & 6.5mm. Stand back boy she could blow]. So bottom line 'is', they've not been shorted or anything & were trying hard to explode in the toy i guess. So removing them gave them freedom to explode if they had the urge--& one did. Bit of a worry if that's possible in a kids toy but maybe that's why it had a good solid battery box with a screwed on lid.