How to Turn Your Kitchen into Pompeii Without Really Trying

Every morning our household goes through the ritual of preparing that highly aromatic drink that is coffee.  No matter how you brew it, it's what gets you going in the morning.  This morning my day started out in a totally different manner than I was expecting.
I dragged myself out of bed, eyes barely opened, and began to pulling together all that was required to make espresso in my stove top Italian brewer.  Water in the bottom, check; coffee in the holder, check; rubber seal to keep the two parts together, check; twist close and put on burner, check.  I set the contraption on the stove with the lid open to know when the water started to boil that way I could turn it down and just wait for the espresso.
The first trickles of liquid begin to ooze into the top, and I noticed it was kind of tar-like.  I thought to myself, why are there coffee grinds in this thing?  So I decided to turn off the stove and just let it cool down because it was ruined.
I turned my back and headed to the fridge when I heard a loud spewing sound and only when I felt hot splashes of liquid on my shoulder did I grasp what was happening.  The stupid thing had erupted all over the kitchen!  Never mind coffee on the stove it was all over the walls, kitchen blinds, fridge, floor, I half expected there to be some on the ceiling but I guess the microwave to most of that force.
When all was said and done, I took the demon possessed thing and was trying to figure out what had gone so horribly wrong.  One of the most important features of these brewers is a gasket that goes between the coffee and the top part, it keeps grinds out and the water at a slow trickle up to the top instead of the Yellowstone National Park Geyser that shot off in my kitchen this morning. 
If there is some comfort to this story it is the fact that the kids now have a quick volcano/geyser science experiment, although I would recommend protective gear!