Hazards
In 2004, a Kent, Washington man was killed while attempting to heat up a lava lamp on a kitchen stove while closely observing it from only a few feet away. The heat from the stove built up pressure in the lamp until it exploded and a shard pierced his heart causing fatal injuries.
The circumstances of his death were later reenacted in a 2006 episode of the popular science television series MythBusters. The show found that even if shards of glass are not thrown with lethal velocity during such an attempt, the resulting spray of hot liquid from the lamp could easily cause severe burns to anyone nearby. The show also noted that the safety instructions clearly state that lava lamps should not be heated by any source other than the specifically rated bulbs and purpose-designed bases that are provided.
Homebrew lava lamp recipes can be found over internet, however some of them rely on combinations of highly flammable components like alcohol. Such lamps could represent a serious fire hazard in the case of rupture when heated over a light bulb. A safe wax formulation that uses distilled water as its transport fluid is also available for hobbyists.
Read more about this topic: Lava Lamp