Let me describe it clearer, BB. The van lost all oil pressure. From what I see of the filter, somehow the media inside plugged solid. The only thing I can think of is cheap media. I believe it was Quaker State that had a lawsuit some years back due to it having some sort of parafin in its media and somehow it would plug up. Anyway, it must have built enough internal pressure that it COLLAPSED internally and immediately restored oil pressure, sending chunks of media into the oil stream. And I assure you that the VANS gauge went right back to normal, so it wasn't some $100 gauge that read in detailed pounds. Remember, an oil sending unit is typically very near the filter, so it's reading pressure directly from the pump and not somewhere down the oils path. When I pulled it off, there were big chunks of the paper like media sitting on the top of the center port, that I could literally pull out very easily with my fingers. So yes, it didn't explode, but imploded. Bad choice of words on my part.
I have not cut the filter apart, but it's easy to see the internal destruction of the filter. I've always been interested to see what it looks like inside, so I might just cut it open and take some pictures and post them for all to see.