logoalt Hacker News

jazzyjackson • today at 7:26 PM • 4 replies • view on HN

> if left untreated, is known for spontaneously combusting as it decays and oxidizes.

Does anyone remember the 90s when as a laymen it seemed like an open debate whether humans would occasionally combust spontaneously? I guess it stopped happening once falling asleep with a cigarette lost popularity

But my point is I wasn’t aware that “spontaneous combustion” was a real thing one has to worry about it. Linseed oil rags will do this too, and that’s why patent leather shoes are coated in plastic now instead.


Replies

tdeck • today at 8:00 PM

This can happen to mulch as well if it's left in a very big pile for a long time.

➕ show 2 replies
aitchnyu • today at 8:17 PM

HowStuffWorks used to be full of expert animations of automatic transmissions and helicopters around 2006 but they had a multipart article on spontaneous combustion, with anecdotes of 1890s people who retained too much ethanol.

➕ show 1 reply
dreamcompiler • today at 7:32 PM

Human spontaneous combustion is a silly myth. Other kinds like oily rags and apparently fishmeal are very real.

➕ show 2 replies