[Jewelry making - Article 00586] - Re: [Orchid] Striker verses lighter when lighting a torch.

[Bruce Holmgrain]

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    Facts? Another urban legend? What gives here? A google search of
    "exploding Bic lighters" reveals that a lot has been written on this
    subject. 

    First we find an urban legends page.
    http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/lighters.htm 

    Next, we find someone that tried to make a couple of them explode.
    http://users.frii.com/dnorris/lighter.html 

    Next is a Canadian newspaper account from 1987, that attempts to
    document the history of claims against Bic. The writer cites three
    cases. Two were settled out of court. The third was won by the
    plaintiff. If I read it right, that woman put a burning lighter in
    her pocket and it later burst into flames. According to the writer,
    there were 200 complaints lodged in  Consumer and Corporate Affairs
    and there had been over 50,000,000 disposable lighters sold in Canada
    in 1986. It might be noted that nothing of consequence can be
    discovered of the three cases mentioned during another Google search.
    http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/mp30/exploding_bics.html 

    The next link talks of Bic plant closings in the USA and provides a
    link to a book by John Stossel. For more on that link skip to the
    next. http://gov.surfwax.com/files/Business_Information_Center.html 

    Here is an interesting piece from a writer that likes to debunk junk
    science. John Stossel is selling a book here, and I quote " I've
    gotten good at fighting off the TV producers who want to do stories
    on say, exploding Bic lighters. I refer them to the "death list"
    posted on my office wall. It lists what kills people in America, and
    helps me point out that hot tap water and plastic bags are deadlier
    than what probably alarmed the producer: More Americans drown in
    toilets than are killed by Bic lighters. Since few producers want to
    do stories on toilets or plastic bags, the story usually goes away.
    http://www.acsh.org/press/editorials/anniversary120403.html 

    There are more links. Try them. 

    Although I currently use a striker, in the years that I smoked, I had
    a lighter in close proximity most of that time. I never had an
    accident with it. 

    I can't say the same of a mix of boric acid and alcohol. I suffered
    some pretty severe burns when I spilled it on myself while trying to
    extinguish a single drop that was burning on the webbing of my hand.
    That's in the archives. Nothing unscientific about that. I
    experienced that personally. 

bruce


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