Is spontaneous combustion real?

Answer 1

Nobody seems to think so.

In cases where it was thought spontaneous combustion had happened, it was usually show that the person had caught his/her fat cells on fire and had burned at such a high rate that only feet and head remained, but no bone/skin remained where torso was.

Answer 2

I believe in it everytime I eat Mexican food...

Actually, there are a couple of interpretations of your question. The first is "Is spontaneous human combustion real?" For this interpretation, the answer is "no".

The second interpretation is just how you wrote the question: "Is sontaneous combustin reatl?" In this case, the answer is yes. For example, stacked wet hay bales promote the growth of large colonies of tiny organisms that give of heat as they eat. On the inside of the hay bale the temperature rises due to the insulation of the surrounding hay until it can reach the combustion temperature of the hay. Boom. Many a barn has been lost to this effect.

Answer 3

No. It is an "urban legend" that has been misrepresented. Lots of people die in mysterious fires, most likely caused by a type of "ball lightning" or static electricity, but the human body does not spontaneously combust. Ask any competent biologist.

Answer 4

Spontaneous combustion is not real. To actually catch a human on fire would take extreme measures, so extreme in fact that a human would die before they'd even catch on fire from the things they'd need to be exposed to.

Since the body is made of around 75% water it is highly fire-proof. Skin and all living tissue can melt but not catch on fire. To actually catch on fire the body's proportions of chemicals and physical composure would need an extreme overhaul. Extreme amounts of a flammable substance would need to be either ingested or put into the body such as a hydrocarbon (gas, propane, methane, ect.) and then a heat source would be required. Then of course you need oxygen which there is plenty of in the air but hydrocarbons exist in our bodies in tiny amounts, so small that extremely advanced scientific computers and high-tech computerized instruments must be used to estimate how much we do have in our bodies. Other flammable materials would do the same to our bodies, essentially killing us from the inside out.

Answer 5

Sure it's caused by chemical reactions that cause heat. Mow the lawn, pour the grass on the ground in a pile somewhere and in a day or two come back and rake it back and feel the inside of the pile. Ir will be hot to the touch from decomposition. Hay in barns has been known to combust this way.

Answer 6

Hi. Spontaneous combustion is a fire that starts itself and is very real. The idea of HUMANS busting into flames is not what you asked.

Answer 7

Yes I saw this guy catch on fire while eating a burger.

Answer 8

I think it is. I saw a special on the discovery channel about it.

Answer 9

absolutely causes hundreds of fires each year