Fact vs. Fiction: Spontaneous Combustion

Oftentimes, in periods of extreme stress, people might say, “I’m so stressed out, I’m going to spontaneously combust!” or some other type of cliché idiom that conveys the extreme level of stress one is feeling at any given moment. But are people really able to spontaneously combust? There are a few documentaries that can be found on the subject, but were those created merely for entertainment purposes, or do humans really possess the capability to spontaneously combust? In this article, we’ll separate the facts vs the fiction on the topic.

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Myth 1: Spontaneous Combustion is not real.

Fact 1

Spontaneous combustion is actually incredibly real, though the rarity of it is extreme. While out of 200 of the cases that have been reported, most do have other plausible causes attached to them. However, there are about seven of them that are still undergoing thorough scientific examination and are being hypothesized to be legitimate. There are also many mysterious deaths that were reported as a death by burning that contain no inclusion of the actual phrase “spontaneous combustion”, but all facts listed in the case files point to it being the culprit as there is no other explanation.

Myth 2

Only alcoholics are susceptible to spontaneous combustion.
While this is one that would make sense as ethanol (the scientific name for alcohol) is an incredibly flammable substance, it’s not only alcoholics who have went out by way of spontaneous incineration.

Fact 2

People who are overweight, alcoholics, diabetics, extremely stressed out, obese, charged with static electricity, and have a certain type of bacteria in their body are all much more susceptible to spontaneous human combustion than the average human. This usually only applies to a person when three or more of the above factors are combined. It has been noted that in situations of spontaneous combustion and obesity being a large factor, the body fat acted as a flame propellant and the bodies dissipated in a blaze much more quickly than that of a normally sized individual.

Myth 3

The body cannot spontaneously combust because it is made up of 70% water

Fact 3

The amount of water in the body is not related to its ability or lack thereof to spontaneously explode with fire. Water cells are found within the skin and organs, but to say that it is seventy percent water in the way in which we may think it is, is just wrong. The key word here is combustion and the amount of water in the body would not be able to put out a fire with such pressure and explosion from just cells alone. Putting out the immense and immediate blaze within a person would require the same amount of pressure from straight water sources such as a hydrant or hose.

Myth 4

Spontaneous human combustion can’t happen to people who are not obese.

Fact 4

This is simply not true. While obesity, when paired with other factors that were mentioned above, creates a type of wick phenomenon within the body, there have been cases of very slim folks who have suffered spontaneous combustion. For instance, a homeless man in 1976 was in a government building, waiting for a social worker. He was known to drink the types of alcohol found within mouthwash, cough medicine, and even plain rubbing alcohol as it was much easier to acquire than regular booze. He had an incision on his stomach from where he had been stabbed only a week before, and it was reported that enormous blue flames began seeping out of the incision site and within minutes, he was burnt up into a three pound pile of grey ash. It’s certain that his ingestion of that kind of alcohol paired with his inevitable stresses that came with being homeless and being a stabbing victim ignited his body, thus creating a spontaneous combustion.

Myth 5

Most eople who died from spontaneous combustion simply didn’t put out a cigarette and fell asleep, thus resulting in the appearance of SHC.

Fact 5

This is definitely a tragedy that occurs more often than one would think, that’s not the case. Sometimes, the toxins found within the cigarette can trigger certain types of bacteria in the body that are found to be flammable. The body also produces its own natural kind of acetone as a normal response to help aid the pancreas for those with diabetes or who struggle with being overweight. If someone lights a cigarette and a large amount of acetone has been produced by the body, they will combust. Though it is unknown whether or not this is considered “spontaneous” because of the outside source of the cigarette. To further prove this point, this theory was tested with pig fat in a controlled lab setting, and the pig fat that had naturally produced the acetone when paired with cigarette smoke created in a fire that burned rapidly.