what causes human combution?

Question

if someone was to just catch fire how do you explain that outside a 4 ft radia is totaly unburned.

Answer 1

Some bacterial infections(septicimias) can cause human combustion.

Answer 2

It comes from the fact that the human body has an awful lot of fat in it (well, some of us do!). It acts like a candle. The 'wick' (core) of the body burns, the fat nearby melts, and the rest, outside the core, is left undamaged.

If you look at photos of spontaneous human combustions, there's always a heat source close by. So it's not a question of someone just suddenly bursting into flames as they walk along the street, for example, but more a matter of how they burn once they've caught fire - it's a long, slow burn with fat as fuel. Gruesome, but fascinating.

Answer 3

It is a great mystery. No one has been able to conclusively say what causes it because the instances are so rare. Usually the cases are discovered too late, meaning the organs are thoroughly charred.

I liked how it was shown in the movie "Como agua por chocolate" in English "Like Water for Chocolate" It occurs when the feelings of love are so intense that your body becomes tinder for the flames within.

Answer 4

I had a fascination with Spontaneous Human Combustion as a kid, and collected EVERYTHING I could lay my hands on concerning the subject...

You don't want to know the real truth - trust me. It'll just ruin the magic!! (And no, it's not dark and sinister... it's just disappointing.)

Keep the magic burning... don't get the answer...

Answer 5

I have no idea. Interestingly enough most cases of spontaneous combustion are elderly women and in the concentration camps during WW2 the nazis always burned the old people first. The reason behind it was that they burned faster than the younger ones.

Answer 6

Slow combustion.

Answer 7

Spontaneous combustion is burning without flames, you just cook in your own juices.

Answer 8

That is a myth and urban legend.