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Man Claims iPod Set His Pants Aflame

alphadogg writes to mention that an Atlanta man is claiming an iPod Nano actually caught fire in his pants creating flames that lasted 15 seconds and reached up as far as his chest. Apple hasn't responded to the claims yet other than sending him a packet to return the iPod.

9 of 270 comments (clear)

  1. Apple hasn't responded by Phroggy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple hasn't responded to the claims yet other than sending him a packet to return the iPod. Nor should they. They haven't seen it yet. What could they possibly say that would be in any way constructive?
    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  2. Dilemma by blind+biker · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Write joke myself, or just lay back and wait for the flow...

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  3. Re:Glossy Paper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    oh yeah? what does is literally smell like?

  4. Next week, on Mythbusters... by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously. That's something to be picked up! Almost begs to be. I wouldn't deem it impossible that Apple actually sponsored it.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Re:Trousers aflame by grimJester · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fifteen seconds? Count that out one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, ... or use the second hand from a watch. That's a pretty damn long time.

    We should make one movie with a guy just casually checking his watch for 15 seconds while his pants go up in flames and another with the guy going completely crazy swatting his burning pants, rolling around on the ground screaming like a maniac, then take a survey to see which one is more realistic.

  6. Was it a real iPod? by fluffy99 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Or one of the really poor quality Chinese knock-offs that you see all over eBay?

  7. Re:that does seem possible according to the photos by Goaway · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The piece of paper looks a lot like a receipt printed on a thermo printer. That paper will turn black at temperatures lower than boiling water, much less fire. Looks like the li-ion batter failed and got hot, but never caught on fire. Had it done so, he'd be wearing a lot more bandages.

  8. Re:that does seem possible according to the photos by v1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There's even very little burn inside his pocket and we all know what cheap thin material they make kakki pants pockets out of. If there had been any actual flames, there'd be a good deal more damage.

    Someone above posted about getting a liquid spilled on them (gas?) and lit and it didn't burn his clothes. Naturally. It burned the gas. There was no accellerant here, and it's not like the lithium was squirting out of the ipod. If there was fire, something was being consumed. His clothes, aside from the little discoloration on the inside of his pocket, are fine. Clearly he's full of BS.

    The blackening of the paper and the pocket lining was almost certainly due to smoke spewing out of the ipod when the battery lit up. There were no "open flames".

    It never ceases to amaze me how many people try to play the "frivilous lawsuit" lottery. People like HIM are why this country has to have so many lawyers.

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  9. Re:that does seem possible according to the photos by sjames · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm guessing there was plenty of smoke but not nearly as much fire as he thought. It's understandable that when someone is surprised by heat, noise, and smoke pouring out of their pants pocket they may honestly remember it a lot worse than it actually was.

    In the local newscast, you could see scorch marks on the side consistant with mostly smoke and a bit of flame, but not the huge fireball he described.