Editing Spontaneous human combustion (section)

== Suggested explanations ==
The scientific consensus is that incidents which might appear as ''spontaneous'' combustion did in fact have an external source of ignition, and that spontaneous human combustion without an external ignition source is extremely implausible. Pseudoscientific hypotheses have been presented which attempt to explain how SHC might occur without an external flame source.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://skepdic.com/shc.html |title=Skeptic's Dictionary on spontaneous human combustion, Retrieved Oct 20, 2007 "The physical possibilities of spontaneous human combustion are remote." |publisher=Skepdic.com |date=24 September 2011 |access-date=24 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="Radford"/> [[Benjamin Radford]], science writer and deputy editor of the science magazine ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'', casts doubt on the plausibility of spontaneous human combustion: "If SHC is a real phenomenon (and not the result of an elderly or infirm person being too close to a flame source), why doesn't it happen more often? There are 8 billion people<!-- PLEASE DO *NOT* EDIT THE NUMBER "8 BILLION" --> in the world [ ⁠today in 2024⁠], and yet we don't see reports of people bursting into flame while walking down the street, attending football games, or sipping a coffee at a local [[Starbucks]]."<ref name="The Body Odd on MSNBC.com">{{cite web| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/body-odd/irishman-died-spontaneous-human-combustion-coroner-claims-flna1c6437165| title=Irishman died of spontaneous human combustion, coroner claims |first=Benjamin |last=Radford |author-link=Benjamin Radford |work=[[MSNBC]]| date=13 Mar 2023| access-date=8 October 2011}}</ref>

=== Natural explanations ===
* Almost all postulated cases of SHC involve people with low mobility due to advanced age or [[obesity]], along with poor health.<ref name=Skeptoid>{{Skeptoid|id=4258|number=258| title=Spontaneous Human Combustion|date=17 May 2011 |access-date=2017-06-20}}</ref> Victims show a high likelihood of having died in their sleep, or of having been unable to move once they had caught fire.
* Smoking is often seen as the source of fire.<ref name="nickell1998">{{cite journal|title=Fiery tales that spontaneously destruct |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |first=Joe |last=Nickell |author-link=Joe Nickell| volume=22| issue=2 |date=March–April 1998| url= http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fiery_tales_that_spontaneously_destruct/}}</ref> Natural causes such as [[Myocardial infarction|heart attacks]] may lead to the victim dying, subsequently dropping the cigarette, which after a period of smouldering can ignite the victim's clothes.<ref name="nickell1998" />
* The "[[wick effect]]" hypothesis suggests that a small external flame source, such as a burning cigarette, chars the clothing of the victim at a location, splitting the skin and releasing [[Subcutaneous tissue|subcutaneous]] fat, which is in turn absorbed into the burned clothing, acting as a wick. This combustion can continue for as long as the fuel is available. This hypothesis has been successfully tested with pig tissue and is consistent with evidence recovered from cases of human combustion.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Palmiere |first1=C. |last2=Staub |first2=C. |last3=La Harpe |first3=R. |last4=Mangin |first4=P. | title=Ignition of a human body by a modest external source: a case report| journal=[[Forensic Science International]]| year=2009| pmid=19410396| doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.03.027| volume=188| issue=1–3| pages=e17–19}}</ref><ref name=CAMPBELL>{{Cite journal| volume=39| issue=1| pages=27–38| last1=DeHaan| first1=J. D.| last2=Campbell| first2=S. J.| last3=Nurbakhsh| first3=S.| title=Combustion of animal fat and its implications for the consumption of human bodies in fires| url=https://artcmr.com/Fire-ex/assets/combustion-of-animal-fat-and-its-implications-for-the-consum2.pdf| journal=[[Science & Justice]]| year=1999| doi=10.1016/s1355-0306(99)72011-3| pmid=10750270| access-date=3 July 2019| archive-date=22 November 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122153128/https://artcmr.com/Fire-ex/assets/combustion-of-animal-fat-and-its-implications-for-the-consum2.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref> The human body typically has enough stored energy in fat and other chemical stores to fully combust the body; even lean people have several pounds of fat in their tissues. This fat, once heated by the burning clothing, wicks into the clothing much as candle wax is drawn into a lit candle wick, providing the fuel needed to keep the wick burning.<ref>{{cite web| last1=Watson| first1=Stephanie| last2=Mancini| first2=Mark |title=How Spontaneous Human Combustion Works| url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm |work=[[HowStuffWorks]] | date=2 March 2005|access-date=24 September 2011}}</ref> The protein in the body also burns, but provides less energy than fat, with the water in the body being the main impediment to combustion. However, slow combustion, lasting hours, gives the water time to evaporate slowly. In an enclosed area, such as a house, this moisture will recondense nearby, possibly on windows. Feet don't typically burn because they often have the least fat; hands also have little fat, but may burn if resting on the abdomen, which provides all of the necessary fat for combustion.
* [[Scalding]] can cause burn-like injuries, sometimes leading to death, without setting fire to clothing. Although not applicable in cases where the body is charred and burnt, this has been suggested as a cause in at least one claimed SHC-like event.<ref name=nickell1996b />
* [[Brian J. Ford]] has suggested that [[ketosis]], possibly caused by [[alcoholism]] or low-carb dieting, produces [[acetone]], which is highly [[flammable]] and could therefore lead to apparently spontaneous combustion.<ref name="Microscope">{{cite journal |last=Ford |first=Brian J. |author-link=Brian J. Ford |title=Solving the Mystery of Spontaneous Human Combustion |journal=The Microscope |volume=60 |issue=2 |year=2012 |pages=63–72 |url=http://www.mcri.org/CMSuploads/Brian%20J.%20Ford%20-%20Solving%20the%20Mystery%20of%20Spontaneous%20Human%20Combustion-85047.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510231220/http://www.mcri.org/CMSuploads/Brian%20J.%20Ford%20-%20Solving%20the%20Mystery%20of%20Spontaneous%20Human%20Combustion-85047.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=Ford| first=Brian J.| title=The big burn theory |journal=[[New Scientist]] |date=18 August 2012 |pages=30–31 |url=http://www.brianjford.com/a-1208-NSci-SHC.pdf| access-date=23 August 2012}}</ref>
* SHC can be confused with [[self-immolation]] as a form of suicide. In the West, self-immolation accounts for 1% of suicides,<ref>{{cite journal|last1 = Shkrum|first1 = M. J.|last2 = Johnston|first2 = K. A.|title = Fire and suicide: a three-year study of self-immolation deaths|journal = Journal of Forensic Sciences|date = January 1992|volume = 37|issue = 1|pages = 208–221|doi = 10.1520/JFS13228J|pmid = 1545201}}</ref> while Radford claims in developing countries the figure can be as high as 40%.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tourjée |first1=Diana |date=5 November 2015 |title=Why a Woman in Germany Just Spontaneously Combusted |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-a-woman-in-germany-just-spontaneously-combusted/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250106170533/https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-a-woman-in-germany-just-spontaneously-combusted/ |archive-date=6 January 2025 |access-date=28 March 2025 |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Sometimes there are reasonable explanations for the deaths, but proponents ignore official autopsies and contradictory evidence in favor of anecdotal accounts and personal testimonies.<ref name="nickell1998" /><ref name=nickell1996b>{{cite journal |title= Not-So-Spontaneous Human Combustion |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |last= Nickell |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Nickell|volume= 20 |issue=6 |date=November–December 1996 |url= http://www.csicop.org/si/show/not-so-spontaneous_human_combustion/ |access-date=16 August 2010}}</ref><ref name=nickell1996a>{{cite journal |title= Spontaneous Human Nonsense |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |last= Nickell |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Nickell|volume= 6 |date=1 December 1996 |issue=4 |url= http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/spontaneous_human_nonsense/}}</ref>
* Inhaling/digesting [[phosphorus]] in different forms may lead to the formation of [[phosphine]], which can [[Autoignition temperature|autoignite]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18043026/|pmid=18043026 |doi=10.1097/PAF.0b013e31815b4bed |title=Spontaneous ignition in case of celphos poisoning |journal=The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology |date=December 2007 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=353–355 |last1=Yadav |first1=Jayanthi |last2=Athawal |first2=B. K. |last3=Dubey |first3=B. P. |last4=Yadav |first4=V. K. }}</ref>

=== Alternative hypotheses ===
* Larry E. Arnold in his 1995 book ''Ablaze!'' proposed a [[pseudoscientific]] new subatomic particle, which he called "pyrotron".<ref name="arnold-1995" />{{rp|99–106}}<ref name=nickell1996b /> Arnold also wrote that the flammability of a human body could be increased by certain circumstances, like increased alcohol in the blood.<ref name="arnold-1995" />{{rp|84}}<ref name=nickell1996b /> He further proposed that extreme stress could be the trigger that starts many combustions.<ref name="arnold-1995" />{{rp|163}}<ref name=nickell1996b /> This process may use no external oxygen to spread throughout the body, since it may not be an "[[oxidation-reduction]]" reaction; however, no reaction mechanism has been proposed. Researcher Joe Nickell has criticised Arnold's hypotheses as based on [[selective evidence]] and [[argument from ignorance]].<ref name=nickell1996b />
* In his 1976 book ''Fire from Heaven'', UK writer [[Michael Harrison (writer)|Michael Harrison]] suggests that SHC is connected to [[poltergeist]] activity because, he argues, "the force which activates the 'poltergeist' originates in, and is supplied by, a human being". Within the concluding summary, Harrison writes: "SHC, fatal or non-fatal, belongs to the extensive range of poltergeist phenomena."<ref>{{cite book|title=Fire from Heaven|first=Michael|last=Harrison|publisher=[[Sidgwick & Jackson]]|date=1 April 1976|isbn=978-0283982170}}</ref>
* John Abrahamson suggested that [[ball lightning]] could account for spontaneous human combustion. "This is circumstantial only, but the charring of human limbs seen in a number of ball lightning cases are [sic] very suggestive that this mechanism may also have occurred where people have had limbs combusted," says Abrahamson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1720-ball-lightning-scientists-remain-in-the-dark/|title=Ball lightning scientists remain in the dark|last=Muir|first=Hazel|date=20 December 2001|website=[[New Scientist]]|access-date=2016-06-13}}</ref>