I've done stupider things during last ditch repairs. Once time I replaced the tantalum caps on a board blindly hoping that it would cure a power rail short. I'd never used SMD tants before and didn't know that the band was a + band and not a - band.
Within 3 seconds of applying power, there was a fireworks display which destroyed the board entirely :)
Tantalum caps are great fun. I remember we would booby-trap each other's breadboards with them in EE lab, to this day I'm still extra vigilant about polarity of all components. Measure twice, apply power once.
Regular electrolytic caps also make a nice pop and ball of fuzz, often the shell will fly across the room at good speed. Also they have that unforgettable odor of shame that will follow whatever you were working on for a few hours.
