You know the old saying, “nothing can ruin your day like spontaneously catching on fire”? We don’t either, but if it isn’t a quote it should be because…ouch. Reports of Spontaneous Human Combustion span history and continents. While situations and backstories change, many constants can be found between the cases. Is it possible that a rare set of circumstances could present itself where a human being would spontaneously catch afire? Could it be something more sinister like purposeful fires set via Pyrokinesis or something equally as morbid…big tobacco? We throw on our firefighter gear and go searching this week. Plus, Conspiracy Bot is triggered and it’s because of your morning bagel (I guess everyone has their thing), the fellas talk Fire Marshall Bill (because how could they not), and Ryan Cassell makes his triumphant return to the Lower 4th (and is promptly schooled in the art of Jim Carrey – you’ll see). All of that and more on the podcast that’s never caught fire spontaneously, but we think we saw it happen once at a rave in college - Hysteria 51.
Special thanks to this week’s research sources:
Research Assistant - Raymond Walden IV
Books
ABLAZE! The Mysterious Fires of Spontaneous Human Combustion | Larry E. Arnold
Strange Electromagnetic Dimensions: The Science of the Unexplainable | Louis Proud
Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception | Gerald N. Callahan
Videos
Real Scientific Cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion - https://youtu.be/aAAZYtivMGk
The Spontaneous Human Combustion Of Mary Reeser - https://youtu.be/4hVrSEWrKDY
Websites
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion
How Stuff Works - https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm
Popular Mechanics - https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/tv/a4317/4316466/
Mirror - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/bizarre-video-first-ever-genuine-7217149
History - https://www.history.com/news/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real
Hysteria 51 - http://hysteria51.com/