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Claim: Spark from a welding arc reaches disposable lighter in worker's pocket, causing it to explode and kill him.
Example: [Morgan and Tucker, 1987]
Variations:
emerged in the late 1970s. According to Morgan and Tucker, it probably began as a word-of-mouth rumor which, whatever its origins, was "soon picked up by worried officials and spread further with the help of copy machines."
Photocopied fliers alerting industrial workers to this "DEADLY HAZARD" circulated widely. They claimed, without crediting a source, that a butane lighter could explode with the force of three sticks of dynamite. In one popular version, two welders working for the Union Pacific Railroad were said to have carried disposable butane lighters in their pockets; the lighters were ignited by sparks from a welding torch and exploded. By November 1979, Union Pacific Railroad had fielded hundreds of calls from reporters and concerned foremen about these supposed horrific accidents, and they issued a press release about the rumor. In it, Union Pacific's safety director was quoted as saying: "It just didn't happen. Union Pacific certainly doesn't endorse butane lighters, or any other product, for that matter. But we are deeply concerned when our name is used in such a reckless No welders working for Pacific Railroad or any other employer had been killed by exploding lighters, nor have any been killed in the years since the rumor first appeared. Yet even though the "welders killed by an exploding lighter" legend isn't true, it does not necessarily follow that butane lighters are completely safe and will never explode. In the legend, all it takes is an errant spark to set them off, but the chilling reality is that even well-constructed disposable lighters can — and have — blown up when left in too warm an environment. Leaving a lighter in a sunlit car or merely walking around with one in a pocket during a heatwave can be all it takes to turn a 99¢ convenience item into an explosion. Heat-induced pressure builds up inside, eventually creating too much force to be contained by the materials used in the lighter's housing. Some of these lighters have exploded in the pockets of jackets and shirts or gone bang! while lying on the dashboards of cars. There's a great deal to what might otherwise be seen as a baseless "new technology is dangerous" rumor, as disposable lighters have exploded with alarming frequency. In 1995 a salesman's car burst into flames in Brussels when the liquid gas in Scare stories are used to emphasize what are seen as important cautions. In this case, the caution against disposable lighters is driven home by the horrifying mental image of a man turned into a human fireball by such a mishap. His gruesome death is held up as an example of what might happen to you. Usually such tales are either outright fabrications or — when the "threats" have something to them — nothing more than exaggerations, with the warned-against activity consummated in the gore-dripped death of a foolhardy soul who engaged in the practice being decried. In those instances, even when the danger is real, the outcome as expressed in the story is not: The lurking menace is presented as a killer in order to make a point, not because such deaths have actually occurred. Yet that is not quite the case here. A number of injuries have been caused by exploding disposable lighters, as well as, it appears, at least one death. In 1985, 66-year-old Noted folklorist Jan Brunvand concluded the folk version of the disposable lighter accident involving welders was untrue but the actual danger presented by the lighters was real. "The folk stories got the details wrong, but preserved the memories of such accidents that out-of-court settlements have suppressed for years." Barbara "careful; your Bic may flick you" Mikkelson Last updated: 14 July 2006 Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by snopes.com. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  Sources:
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