Crystal Ball Found To Be Cause Of Fire

[matcom]

<snip>

SHAWNEE, Okla. -- Firefighters in this central Oklahoma town peered into a crystal ball and found the cause for a fire.

It didn't take long for Shawnee Fire Prevention Officer Jimmy Gibson to figure out what caught a homeowner's sofa on fire and brought fire crews to the rescue.

Once the couch was extinguished, Gibson reached into a hole burnt into the sofa and found a glass gazing ball. Soon, sunlight shining through the ball burned two holes in the leg of his pants.

Firefighters then placed the ball in the grass, and within 30 seconds the ground was smoking.

"It has dynamic heat. We were caught off guard," Gibson said. "I couldn't believe how quickly it burned."

Firefighters believe the ball was taken off a table, where it was usually displayed, and placed on the couch by the homeowner's grandchildren. The fire started two days later, when sunshine came through a large set of windows and through the glass ball, igniting the couch.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2004/01/29/crystal_ball_starts_fire_at_okla_home/

[arwalden]

1. Reminds Me Of My Own Experience...

My car's radar detector was mounted to the windshield with a clear vinyl suction cup. When I removed the radar detector, I could simply unhook it and leave the suction cup in place.

Unfortunately the center "knob" area of the clear vinyl suction cup refracted light just as a magnifying glass would do. The light would pass through the suction cup and would be focused on my dashboard.

It wasn't enough to start a fire, but it was enough to cause a melted line that traced the sun's path through the sky.

After I discovered the burn mark, I said "AW SHIT"... when I discovered exactly how it was caused, I said "Hey Cool!".

-- Allen

[underpants]

2. Damn! And no one saw this coming?

:bounce: