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.

Liar!

[Anonymous Coward]

Liar liar pant's on fire!

Oh, wait... let me get you some water.

Re:Liar!

[TheRaven64]

If the fire is caused by a lithium battery, what would the effects of pouring on water be?

Re:Liar!

[idontgno]

Sir Bedivere: "What do we burn, apart from lithium batteries?"

Peasant: "More lithium batteries!"

Re:Liar!

[Provocateur]

Who said anything about pouring it? The guy was just thirsty, with or without burning pants.

Re:

[Joe The Dragon]

ask the mythbusters.

Re:Liar!

[or-switch]

Probably nothing. It doesn't contain lithium metal,which is quite explosive on contact with water. The 'ion' in Lithium ion means it's in it's +1 state and would dissolve in the water like a salt

Re:Liar!

[Matteo522]

But the +1 means it can hit incorporeal creatures, right?

that does seem possible according to the photos

[Anonymous Coward]

there are supposedly photos here: http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/05/ipod-nana-spews-chest-high-flames-from-trousers-lawsuit-at/ [engadget.com]

I am noticing that the guy is pretty short on smoke damage for the kind of flames described. Burning plastic, which would be involved here produces copious amounts of sticky black smoke, and I'm not seeing much of any. Not to mention the fact that his pocket liner seems to be more or less unharmed. IIRC the burning temperature of Lithium is higher than that of cotton.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[budgenator]

I was on fire for at least 15 seconds, maybe more it's hard to tell with traumatic amnesia. I don't remember catching on fire, but I remember smothering foot high flames with my shirt sleeve for 15 seconds, then I remember pulling my hand out of a bucket of water that was across the room, so I can speak with some authority when I say if what he said happened, happened he'd look more like I did. [comcast.net] I'm calling bullshit on that one, a slight scald from a overly warm battery sure, foot high flames stopped by "glossy" paper yeah right, sounds more like a bullshit entry to the Liability Lottery to me.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[chimpo13]

Several years ago, I was splashed with gasoline and set on fire while wearing a polyester Hawaiian shirt. No damage was done to me or the shirt. I slapped it out. It happened twice because the girl I was with thought it was funny so she did it again. It was funny. I'm sorry about what happened to you, that looks like a lot of damage, but fire does strange things.

Re:

[log0n]

Retaliation for the shirt? *ducks*

Re:

[budgenator]

Your lucky, polyester melts into a hot sticky tarry mess that holds the heat in when it melts. What I was burned with was basically melted rosin, sports rosin, which I use because its a sticky tarry stuff for sticking dental models together. Mostly I feel lucky, I got off pretty easy compared to what it easily could have been, I've very slight scarring now, the hand looks about like 70 or 80 year old skin, I've lost some pigment near the palm and a lot of elastisicty; range of motion is back up to 99% so I'

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[goldspider]

"It happened twice because the girl I was with thought it was funny so she did it again."

Ummm.... where do I start?

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[Red Flayer]

Nowhere.

[Girl who uses accelerant to set me on fire] >>> [absence of girl].

Duh.

Re:

[drcagn]

Joanna, fire.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[k1e0x]

I was splashed with gasoline and set on fire while wearing a polyester Hawaiian shirt. -- It happened twice because the girl I was with thought it was funny so she did it again.

Dammed kids these days.. back in my day we would just huff the gas, but oooh no, not today, thats to old fashion, gotta take everything the the extreme now.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[ozbird]

Dammed kids these days.. back in my day we would just huff the gas, but oooh no, not today, thats to old fashion, gotta take everything the the extreme now.

Back in the day, kids used to be sharing, and took turns at setting each other on fire. Nowadays it's just me, me, me...

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[muellerr1]

Just because we have chisled abs and stunning features, does not mean we to can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[flyingsquid]

I'm calling bullshit on that one, a slight scald from a overly warm battery sure, foot high flames stopped by "glossy" paper yeah right, sounds more like a bullshit entry to the Liability Lottery to me.

"Ok, uh, we found this mouse in a bottle of Elsinore beer that we bought at your beer store, eh? And we heard that when that happens you get your beer free."

Re:

[sjames]

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.

Re:that does seem possible according to the photos

[Goaway]

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.

Re:

[v1]

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 l

Jerry lee + Leewis

[F4_W_weasel]

I bet he was listening to
Great Balls of fire

Re:

[provigilman]

Maybe he was listening to something by the band Hot Hot Heat? Either that or some Elton John... ;)

Well well well...

[Burning1]

Let me be the first to ask... Did he happen to be hanging from telephone wire when this incident occurred?

it's obvious

[User 956]

Let me be the first to ask... Did he happen to be hanging from telephone wire when this incident occurred?

Yeah, it's pretty obvious this isn't true. Everyone knows Apple doesn't use Sony batteries.

The obvious joke...

[parkrrrr]

He's obviously lying.

His pants are on fire.

Re:

[mollog]

Headline: Burning Man Festival, Atlanta GA

Knowing Apple

[archgoon]

I'm sure they can spin this into positive PR.

It's a feature

[grimJester]

Apparently the flames are invisible so people will think you're dancing.

Re:

[hey!]

You mean like hot grits?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

I just love when people say "apparently" and "invisible" in one sentence.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

>I'm sure they can spin this into positive PR.

Absolutely! Steve Jobs will announce that from this moment forward, all Apple Stores will carry Apple's new iMarshmallows (tm), and that he has arranged to send every registered iPod user a coupon for 50% off their purchase (for a limited time only).

Re:Knowing Apple

[aymanh]

You remind me of this Dilbert strip [unitedmedia.com].

obligatory

[Pieisexaclty3]

In Soviet Russia music burns you.

Well, obviously

[overshoot]

... he needs to sue his dry-cleaners.

Re:Well, obviously

[UbuntuDupe]

No, I think the dry-cleaners definitely held up their end of keeping the clothes dry LOL MIRITE.

(Poster to follow up with an explanation of why it's called "dry"-cleaning in 3...2...)

Re:Well, obviously

[Anonymous Coward]

Dry cleaning uses non-water-based solvents to remove dirt and stains from clothes. The potential for using petroleum based solvents in this manner was first discovered in the mid-19th century by French dye-works owner Jean Baptiste Jolly, who noticed that his tablecloth became cleaner after his maid spilled kerosene on it, and from this observation developed a service to clean other people's clothes in this manner, which he termed "nettoyage à sec," or "dry cleaning" in English.

Re:

[HouseArrest420]

could at least give credit where credit is due http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cleaning [wikipedia.org]

Apple hasn't responded

[Phroggy]

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?

Re:Apple hasn't responded

[Burpmaster]

They haven't seen it yet. What could they possibly say that would be in any way constructive?

"Pics or it didn't happen!"

Re:Apple hasn't responded

[Shivetya]

told him its his fault for installing 3rd party applications?

Re:

[UbuntuDupe]

No, no, you misunderstand. "Telephone/rumor" effect and all. They didn't give him a packet to return the iPod. The exact wording was that they're giving him "a receptacle in which to place the damaged goods".

In other words, a hooker.

Re:

[goldspider]

I predict that the burnt wreck will mysteriously get lost in the mail. Game over.

hmmm

[LiquidCoooled]

I was sure I posted in here earlier but its vanished..
Found it again from my comments but not here

His playlist included:

                The Doors, Light my Fire

                The Prodigy, Firestarter

                Madonna, Burning up

Currently playing though was

                James Brown, Hot pants.

The burning question...

[fohat]

Will this be followed up with a story about an Apple manager stating:
"We didn't start the Fire..."?

Re:hmmm

[Chris Burke]

Currently playing though was

                                James Brown, Hot pants.

Followed fifteen seconds later by:

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire

Re:

[ceoyoyo]

It was in his back pocket. Next in the queue was Johnny Cash, Ring of Fire.

Re:

[stokes]

I'd have expected him to have been listening to Bruce Cockburn [wikipedia.org].

Re:

[budgenator]

How about a movie sound track?
"If captured the government will disavow any knowledge of your mission, this IPOD will self destruct in fifteen seconds, Good Luck"

Re:

[Hoi Polloi]

Lucky it didn't include Talking Heads, Burning Down the House.

Trousers aflame

[ackthpt]

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.

hmm, my testicles appear to be alight. I suppose I might have to do something about that one of these days...

The fire reached to his chest? I'm wondering what else he had in his pocket, perhaps a butane lighter. Even if I hooked an electrical cord to a 2032 Li-ion cell I seriously doubt the flames would go more than 3 inches. Usually batteries go because the current draw is very high. Perhaps polyester clothing could contribute to his misfortune, but glossy paper in his pocket protected him from severe burns? I think we'll have to see what the nano looked like afterwards before really passing any judgement, but this is just about as amazing as the finger in the Wendy's Chili.

Re:Trousers aflame

[grimJester]

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.

Re:Trousers aflame

[The Wing Lover]

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,

"Hi, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a PC."

Re:

[PalmKiller]

Maybe they flames reached his chest while he was sitting down.

Re:

[Hoi Polloi]

I could see it getting very hot but flames? I had something along these lines happen once to me. I had a pocket full of change and a new AA battery in it. The change in my pocket actually managed to arrange into a loop that short circuited the battery. So I'm sitting in a lecture and after a while start thinking "Man, my leg hurts, feels like my keys are sticking into me." By the time I couldn't take it anymore and reached in to see what it was the change in my pocket was burning hot. I wasn't running

Re:Trousers aflame

[zippthorne]

Indeed. Glossy paper protected him?

Glossy paper is little more than hydrocarbon steeped cellulose fibers, I fail to see how "chest high flames" would've been stopped by glossy paper. Also why they would apparently fail to burn anything but a little bit of the inside of his pocket. I mean, they'd have to go through his pants to reach chest-high, wouldn't they?

It's far more likely that it was a slow burn, which the paper did slightly insulate him from, but which when he finally noticed was hot enough to slightly char the inside of his pocket and the paper. The "chest high flame" could be attributed to misremembering the event due to shock. I know I've poorly recalled a minor accident I was in, once. (Poorly recalled right after. After I had time to think about it, I'm pretty sure I remember correctly, but at the time it seemed much worse than it was)

Collect the evidence

[athloi]

Apple hasn't responded to the claims yet other than sending him a packet to return the iPod.

"Your Honor, we cannot reproduce the allegedly malfunctioning device at this time."

Goodness gracious

[RLiegh]

...great balls of fire!

He sat on it

[dedazo]

It bent, the battery ruptured, the lithium reacted with the air. Fire. Possible? I doubt it was spontaneous like the Dell laptops.

This was avoidable

[Rude Turnip]

He should have picked a color other than pink and settled for fabulous instead of flaming.

Maybe...

[Anonymous Coward]

He was watching The Hills, and the Nano couldn't take it, so it decided to end his life.

Re:

[budgenator]

Nope "Mission Impossible"

A job for...

[Cleon]

This looks like a job for...the Mythbusters!

Or Dave Barry.

But given that no toilet is involved, I'm inclined to lean towards the Mythbusters.

Next week, on Mythbusters...

[Opportunist]

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

Never would have happened with a Dell music player

[Limburgher]

. .oh. . .wait. . .

They did it for sales...

[spazmolytic666]

They set him on fire for downloading non-itunes music to his ipod, imagine what they'll do to the iphone hackers!

Re:

[budgenator]

That puts poisoned torrents into a whole new context

best. tag. ever

[Anonymous Coward]

I think everyone should tag this ipwned.

Is that an iPod in your pocket...

[MichaelCrawford]

... or are you just happy to see me?

Hot device

[Ilan Volow]

Must be the firewire model.

Christmas shopping

[daveywest]

I think its already been said that iPods are going to be the hottest thing for the holidays this year.

While Listening to "Catch a Fire" by Bob Marley

[CodeBuster]

Apparently the iPod and the battery rendered the songs a bit too literally...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Quite possibly

[overshoot]

They can't risk one of these devices turning into something of Thermite while in flight.

That makes sense, since that kind of Security Theater wouldn't be nearly as hard to implement as stopping people from carrying on kilograms of real thermite.

How long before lawsuit filed?

[Electric Eye]

You know the scumbag sharks are already circling and I'm sure this guy has already spoken to ten lawyers about suing Apple. It's the American Way, you know.

Re:

[Electric Eye]

Gee, 100 million of them have been sold and one defective one constitutes a lawsuit? I'd wait to see what Apple does. Regardless, I'm sure this dude will sue because this is his chance to say he was "damaged" in some way or harmed for life. I'm taking bets now on how quickly that happens.

Mod Apple down ...

[Anonymous Coward]

... for making flamebait products. :)

self-destruct button

[treak007]

I think this makes it pretty obvious that Steve Jobs is secretly hiding self-destruct mechanisms inside the ipods for when Apple tries to take over the world.

Surrender or your 8 gigs of music gets it.

could be worse...

[Reverend528]

This makes the ipod the second deadliest item [bangkokpost.com] to carry around in your pants.

Nearly two years old?

[youthoftoday]

From TFA: "The nearly two year-old iPod caught fire".

He kept commodity electronics more than six months! He did not consume, he is not a good citizen, he had it coming!

The facts

[UnknowingFool]

The iPod nano is almost two years old.
Apple sent him a package to return the iPod.
The battery is Lithium-ion.

The story has noted that laptop li-ion batteries that Apple used have caught on fire before. The article did not mention that the batteries in question were made by Sony.

It is possible that something went wrong with the battery and/or packaging; however, bear in mind that this is a two year old iPod nano. This is the first reported case so 1 out of millions of iPod nanos since sold is a very

This Thread

[MrCrassic]

...is USELESS without pics!

I'll let my Karma burn along with this guy.

Apple's old slogan said it all

[hcdejong]

Rip. Mix. Burn.

Re:

[Dachannien]

Well, I get the "rip" and "burn" parts, but how do you mix your pants?

Was it a real iPod?

[fluffy99]

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

Dancing Flame?

[AeroIllini]

Youtube posting of modified iPod commercial showing dancers on fire in 3... 2... 1...

Not sure I believe him...

[switcha]

I mean, I don't want to start a flame war with this guy, but ....

No, really! I don't want to start a flame war with this guy.

Mythbusters

[nurb432]

It really does sound like one of their episodes.. An implausible urban legend, a pending lawsuit.. splashed with a tiny amount of questionable science..

Now, all repeat after me ' BUSTED '.

Re:

[cashman73]

And so ends the Apple's "Dell Battery Supply Deal" . . .

Re:

[TheRaven64]

oh yeah? what does is literally smell like?

Smells like a verb to me. Perhaps you were looking for a pronoun?

Smells like...

[SuperKendall]

Victory!

Re:

[FauxPasIII]

british(pants,trousers) <=> american(underwear,pants)

Re:Pants?

[Bob-taro]

british(pants,trousers) american(underwear,pants)

Interesting. So what does "iPod" mean in british?

Re:

[RDW]

'Presumably there's an Americanism at play here and the iPod was in his trousers rather than his pants, if not then i've a that feeling Apple could claim improper use.'

Or improper accessories, at any rate:

http://www.ohmibod.com/ [ohmibod.com]

Re:

[theguru]

Yes, and if you ever hear an American referring to a woman's "fanny", they're talking about her rear end, not what you think they're talking about. :)

Re:

[stimpleton]

I am a New Zealander and Fanny = Pussy. And thats the watered down word.

The opening ditty for the old US sit-com "The Nanny" [wikipedia.org](that we got here) chimed of her "falling on her fanny".

Pretty much I envisioned something like her standing like this [dkimages.com] and then falling forward.

For impending US tourists to NZ - a complete list [chemistry.co.nz].

Just so you know when some one says "Her flat mate trimmed her fringe and her fanny, had a squiz at the nick and gave her some plasters".

Re:what did he expect?

[Provocateur]

Yes but in mailing the packet they decided to choose standard delivery, not priority overnight! Meanwhile the guy is without pants! Without music!

I feel your pain!

Re:

[Radon360]

Yes, I get your humor bit.

On the serious side, if this were my company's defective product, I wouldn't have it returned priority overnight, either. If I did, there's a good possibility that it would be shipped via an aircraft. A potentially unstable item such as this is prohibited from being shipped via aircraft without some type of special permission/paperwork. I could be opening my company up to an even larger liability if in the remote case the thing should happen to reignite.

Re:

[King_TJ]

Don't forget:

The RIAA is *really* cracking down on illegal music downloads with the latest DRM!