The recent rash of spontaneously combusting iPhones has a lot of people worried, so worried that the European Union has launched an investigation into the matter. Apple Computer insists that the problem isn't related to any sort of manufacturing defect. Rather, they assert that third party software is to blame, in particular a new and very popular app called iExplode.

According to product testers, the tiny iPhone application does precisely what it implies- causing the unit to erupt into a tiny fireball and spit out thousands of white-hot shards directly at the user's face. In response to the continued incident reports, Apple has issued an urgent warning to users outlining the dangers and potential for serious injury related to the iExplode app.

The warning seems to have backfired, however. Many users interpreted the strongly worded warning as some kind of ironic marketing pitch and as a result iExplode is now this week's number one download. This surprising success may be the reason why Apple yet to pull it from their App Store.

The developers claim that their product is perfectly safe and contains a clearly worded warning in big red letters on the interface. Unfortunately, the "Do Not Press This Button" button has proven far too tempting for many young people, thus the long string of injurious phone detonations.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how something like iExplode got past our screening process for the App Store," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "And for that matter, why did we add a self-destruct feature to the Cocoa Touch API in the first place? I'm sure we had a reason at the time. Just ask any hard core Macintosh user and they'll swear that whatever that reason is, it's a damn good one."

Apple's stock price dipped last week as news of the problems began to spread, but now it seems that the phone's reputation for randomly exploding has only enhanced it's appeal among consumers under the age of 30. Apple Store employees report higher demand than ever, lines around the block as long or longer than they were the day the phone first hit the market. Apparently America's Internet-weened super-cynical young people hate themselves deeply, and they desperately want a phone that feels the same way.

To ensure the safety of its users and insulate itself from class-action litigation, Apple plans to strip the self-destruct feature from the operating system during the next iPhone software update. Considering it's popularity, though, company representatives indicated that they might turn around and offer it as a fairly expensive add-on early next year.

"I told you we had a really good reason," said Jobs.