Battery exploded?

Question

A long time ago I did the "battery hack" where you open up a 9V battery and then a bunch of triple A batteries came out, just did it because the battery was dead and I had nothing better to do. I put the batteries in a drawer, and 2-3 months later one of them exploded..., and what appears to be ash, which I think is the battery acid, is everywhere in the drawer on top of stuff. Now I have 2 questions,

1) My friend told me to just let it sit and harden, then it will turn white and it will be harmless. Should I do this or wipe it up with a napkin or towel?

2) Why did it explode???

Answer 1

aye bruh i dont know but i think that uhm its like battery acid make sure you dont touch it because theres an about 99.29 chance of you dying trust me i used to work with battery acid. oh and if you let it dry then you could just scrape it off wit wun uhh dem box cutters dont worry, that ***** dont know nothing above me

Answer 2

The guy above is talking nonsense - please don't listen to him.

The juice that comes from alkaline batteries isn't acidic by any means. It's not a good thing to get on your skin as it might give you a small rash if you have sensitive skin, but it's really nothing to worry about. The only way it might cause you serious harm is if you decide to eat a battery juice sandwich...tasty.

Just wipe it up with a napkin and soapy water. As long as you don't eat it, there's no danger there.

I'm not sure as to why it exploded, but the first guy here is probably correct. It might have shorted out on another battery or something metal in the drawer, causing it to pop.

Answer 3

1) I would try to remove, it will eventually chew up stuff.

2) Maybe it was left with terminals shorted or the battery pack expects a compact 6 cell square compartment, so the walls are not that solid, and burst just by pressure of chemicals inside, it made a mess because there was no external metal jacket as any other AAA or 9V battery.