What's cooking?!

Dear master chefs,

The other night I was trying to be helpful and cook dinner. Wendy had a frozen pizza in the freezer and that sounded like something good to eat.
I go to the freezer pull out the pizza. I preheat the oven. This is a somewhat new oven to us, but an older model. It a self cleaning gas oven. So I unwrap the pizza and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Now keep in mind this is a process that I have done a few times. I am not Shack de Pizza, but anybody can cook a pizza right?
Well, apparently, not me or at least not that night. For some reason unknown to me, I lock the oven. I guess I thought the switch was there for some purpose. Of course it is there for some purpose...to keep the oven shut. I have learned that the lock switch is used when the oven is in cleaning mode.
So lo and behold when the angel came with great tidings saying the pizza was done, I could not get into the oven. I asked Wendy about the lock and she at first thought was talking about the dishwasher. Imagine her surprise when she realized oops, I am talking about the oven.
We push and we pull on the door, but unfortunately no pizza! At this point we are starving, because we were hungry 20 minutes ago. I was upset at myself for doing such a stupid thing and worried about the pizza, probably worth $4. Wendy the practical thinker she is was worried about the oven, probably worth a truckload of frozen pizzas.
After struggling for 10 minutes, we do the smart thing. We call for advice. Wendy calls her parents, who have a gas stove. They give their suggestions. It should have worked, but not in this case. I call someone who is a great deal more handy than me. He asks if we have the manual, which Wendy and I dig up.
We look through the manual and find the part about the lock. The lock apparently is a safety device used in the cleaning process. If it does not open then wait a few minutes and try to open again. The manual says it could take up to 30 minutes. I am sure we waited an hour.
All this time we are pushing and pulling. I am ready to take the door off, but have no idea how. Miraculously, just as I had given up hope...I was pulling on the door and I hear a pop. The door opened! The pepperoni peasants rejoiced, the sausage sang, the peppers were produced, the crust had risen to the occasion. We were delivered!
Apparently, the handle would have popped back on its own. We tried to force it back too early, so it the handle was still caught.
So what did I learn? First, maybe I should not be near an oven. Two, the lock is only for the cleaning mode. Third, even burnt and chilled pizza tastes good when you are hungry.