Spontaneos human combustion?

[FelixDeCat]

I was just watching a show about this on the Discovery channel. Pure hogwash if you ask me. I just dont think such a thing exists.

 

[FoBoT]

it doesn't, the human body is 67% water, right?

 

[Ramsnake]

u really cannot say....those burn cases are quite weird though...i personally feel that those SHC cases are rare fire outbreak cases where things dont happen in the conventional way.....1/100 cases happening in the SHC way are enough for people to take notice. i feel those cases are a few freak ones. im sure there arent more than a few cases of SHC every year out of 1000+ incidents.

 

[iamwiz82]

interesting read

 

[Kilgor]

I think scientists have found a reason for it. Basically the body acts like a candle under certain circumstances. Once it catches fire the body fat starts burning real slow or something like that. Don?t take my word for it though, I?m sure some AT?er will prove me wrong or explain it better.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Kilgor
I think scientists have found a reason for it. Basically the body acts like a candle under certain circumstances. Once it catches fire the body fat starts burning real slow or something like that. Don?t take my word for it though, I?m sure some AT?er will prove me wrong or explain it better.

yep, the wick effect, but it is refuted by witnesses of SPC.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
interesting read

"The crew entered the building and discovered the bright light was the burning body of a local alcoholic, Robert Bailey, who had sought shelter in the abandoned house overnight. Strangely, though, neither the fabric of the house itself, nor its internal fittings was damaged. The only thing on fire was Bailey himself"

That was an interesting article. Perhaps he was drinking a flammable alcohol (199 proof).

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Speaking of which

Does anyone remember that show that came on the Sci-fi channel when it first started broadcasting? Came on Sunday nights I think, and was like a news show. Had this old dork on there and they went into ghosts and SHC, etc. Very cheesy but funny as hell. Old guy always talked with such gusto and sincerity (sp?).

 

[FelixDeCat]

I never saw it.

 

[madthumbs]

What would happen if someone ingested white phosphorus? There is a beetle that can get very hot as a defense mechanism possibly starting a fire. There is also evidence that a fire breathing dragon existed once. There was a fossil found and a scientific explanation of how it could breath fire. It probably lived in the water and used cavities in it's head (as in the fossil) to store the phosphorus, catalyst, and inhibitor. There was a lot of evidence tied into the Leviathon (of the Bible) with this also. How it left a ghostly wake (white phos glows).

 

[lawaris]

link your proofs ... I don't believe it !

 

[lowtech1]

There is a beetle that can get very hot as a defense mechanism possibly starting a fire. There is also evidence that a fire breathing dragon existed once. There was a fossil found and a scientific explanation of how it could breath fire. It probably lived in the water and used cavities in it's head (as in the fossil) to store the phosphorus, catalyst, and inhibitor. There was a lot of evidence tied into the Leviathon (of the Bible) with this also. How it left a ghostly wake (white phos glows).

Please name the beetle so I can look it up.
If my memory serve me correctly...paper is one of the easiest material to ignite & it take 450 Celsius to do so. I don't think too many life forms on this planet could withstand such temperature (there are some known geothermal bacteria that live around volcano at a max temp of 180C.)

IMHO the dragon/leviathan theory is use to explain the unknown to the ignorance mass. Just as the way the bible try to rationalize (irrationalize) God/devil to the gullible peasant.
It could be that there were poisonous spiting lizard/snakes/bugs that were exaggerated in fairytale to make the story more interesting.

 

[oLLie]

Have any animals ever been known to spontaneously combust?
*edit* a fire breathing dragon (lizard or whatever) would be dope as hell!