it's an in-joke; there's no actual steam or smoke inside the chips....OR IS THERE?????
My Dad brought us up by making and selling circuit's, Didn't hear it from him ever will tell him 
I once saw a power transistor in a TO-220 package that we'd temporarily soldered onto the board without its heatsink for a "quick" test desolder itself and fall onto the floor when the test went a little too long.
I have experience in blasting that too. 