ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

2007 New York City steam explosion

Okay kiddo, do you remember when we boil water on the stove and then the steam comes out of it? Well, in 2007, a big pipe that brings steam to buildings in New York City broke and the steam came out really fast, causing an explosion.

Lots of people got scared and some even got hurt because the explosion made a lot of noise and smoke, and some people got burned by the hot steam. The explosion also caused some fires and made some buildings lose power, which means they didn't have any electricity.

The people who take care of the pipes worked really hard to fix them so that the steam could start flowing again and things could be back to normal. It was a scary moment, but everyone worked together to make sure everyone was safe and everything was okay again.