Air Date: November 1, 2006
A lighter can explode when placed under a welding tool.
confirmed
The heat generated from the welding tool was hot enough to cause the plastic lighter to melt and release its fuel which ignited, causing a small explosion.
A lighter can explode when put in a laundry dryer.
busted
A lighter was left in a running laundry dryer but suffered no significant damage and did not explode.
A lighter can explode when hit with a golf club.
plausible
Hitting a lighter with a golf club did not make the lighter explode, but when the MythBusters decided to hit the lighter while it was lit, it exploded rather violently.
A lighter can explode on a car dashboard.
busted
The lighter was put in a toaster oven to simulate the maximum temperature that the interior of a car can reach, around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no reaction for several hours, and the lighter finally exploded when the MythBusters ramped the temperature up to over 350 degrees Fahrenheit, well above any temperature that can be expected in the interior of a car.
A single lighter in a person’s pocket could explode lethally.
busted
The MythBusters placed a lighter in a pair of jeans and put it under a welding tool. The sparks and heat from the tool managed to set the pants on fire, but failed to ignite the lighter. This myth was labeled busted because of the improbability of a lighter exploding in someone’s pocket.
Five hundred lighters packed inside a car can explode with lethal force.
plausible
The MythBusters placed five hundred lighters in a car and slowly heated it up. One by one, lighters began to rupture and release gas fumes. When the MythBusters finally triggered an igniter, the gas fumes exploded, blowing out all of the windows and setting the car on fire. The myth was deemed possible as long as there is a suitable ignition source.
An Old West gunslinger could drop a coin and fire his pistol five times before it hits the ground.
busted
Using replicas of actual Wild West pistols, Grant, Kari, and Tory attempted the stunt themselves. However, Grant and Kari were unable to clear the pistols from their holsters in time and Tory was only able to get off one shot. Grant then built a device which showed that the pistols were mechanically unable to fire that fast. The MythBusters finally turned to a professional gunslinger, but he could only fire three shots and he stated that firing five in that space of time would be "extremely difficult". With no results, the myth was busted.
An Old West gunslinger could shoot a hole through a silver dollar.
busted
The MythBusters used actual period silver dollars for the test. A professional gunslinger proved that hitting the coin was possible (with many tries) by piercing a lead coin. Both the Peacemaker and Navy revolver were only able to dent the silver dollar. While a .357 Magnum could easily pierce the coin, the myth was busted because the .357 was not introduced until the 1930’s - gunslingers didn’t have access to it.
An Old West gunslinger could save a man from being hanged by shooting the rope.
busted
Firing at a rope with the pistols, even at point blank range, failed to break the rope. The bullets were merely deflected off of the rope. A professional gunslinger armed with a more powerful Winchester repeating rifle managed to shoot and break the rope, but it required multiple tries in order to pull off. With the difficulty involved in shooting and breaking the rope, the myth was considered busted.
when i watched the lighter myth it looked like you used bic’s you should use a cheaper lighter
June 21, 2007 at 1:20 PM“when i watched the lighter myth it looked like you used bic’s you should use a cheaper lighter”
Why? Everybody uses Bics.
June 23, 2007 at 12:39 AMI’ve had a lighter explode from the heat in my car… while I was driving.
June 23, 2007 at 5:06 AMA Bic is a lot thicker, and they’re better made. More plastic will obviously make it more resistant to the heat.
June 23, 2007 at 10:57 PMThere’s an obvious flaw in the myth labeled “A single lighter can be lethal if it explodes.” You claimed that it was busted, after say that you “failed to ignite the lighter.” The original premise was, if a lighter explodes, it can be lethal. If you didn’t make the lighter explode, how can you claim that it isn’t lethal?
Perhaps you should try again with a dummy with it in a) a jean pants pocket and b) in a dress shirt breast pocket. Place some kind of small ignition source next to the lighter and make sure it explodes. *Then* you can make an accurate judgment as to the damage it causes.
Without following the premise (or disproving the premise), one can’t deny the conclusion.
June 24, 2007 at 2:41 AMI agree and tried to make the wording more clear. I believe the MythBusters labeled this myth ‘Busted’ because the lighter didn’t even ignite inside burning pants, so the premise itself was deemed impossible.
June 24, 2007 at 10:42 AMI had a lighter explode in my car a few weeks back. The difference in the Mythbuster test and the conditions I experienced was that the lighter was only about 1/4 to 1/3 full of butane. It was a transparent green ‘Cricket’type lighter. The seat it was sitting on was dark blue fabric. The lighter had seen a lot of use.
I’d recommend trying this test over again with several different lighters, each with less and less butane in them. There has to be a liquid/gas threshold at a given temp that will break the lighter.
In my case, it literally shattered. I still find shards of green plastic in the car.
June 25, 2007 at 12:14 PMI agree, cheaper brands of lighter are more likely to rupture. It is also possible during manufacture some have miner defects that are still able to pass quality control but ultimatley will fail at a lower threshold. The lighter in the dryer should have been tested with a full load of clothing, as the clothes dry they act as extra insulation creating a hotter environment thereby greater pressure in the lighter. Static sparking between certain types of fabric in dryers would be the source of ignition. I think just about everyone has experienced static discharges while unloading dryers.
June 27, 2007 at 2:48 AMI’ve had a cheap lighter explode in the backseat of a car during a hot day. I wonder if the amount of fuel in the lighter makes a difference?
June 30, 2007 at 10:26 AMI had a cheap lighter explode lying on the lawn in the sun.
I’d lost it from my pocket while mowing. A few hours later, I heard what sounded like a .22 rifle shot right in front of the house. Living in a remote area, a shot isn’t uncommon, but not that close! I looked outside, but everything was still.
I went out to look around and found what was left of the lighter in pieces, scattered all over the lawn.
And… Please give poor Buster a break?
July 1, 2007 at 9:28 AMI just had a cheaper lighter explode inside my dash comparment. It actually created other items in the compartment to shoot through the car and end up in the back window. I wasn’t in the car but found a mess upon returning. It was over 90F. You’re not always right guys!
July 9, 2007 at 5:40 PMoops–YOU’RE busted!!! I got into my car last summer and found teeny little slivers of purple plastic, an itty-bitty spring, all sorts of little metal shards: my favorite Bic lighter, the purple one that had “gone missing”, had indeed exploded in the hot car. The explosion must have been mighty, because a year later I STILL find components, or pieces of them, in some crazy nook or cranny (of my car, not my english muffins). It’s a ‘93 Saturn coupe, and I have no reason to make this up. It was SOOOOOOOOO cool.
July 20, 2007 at 5:18 PMwell this operates off of the standard maximum car temperature and average structural integrety of the lighter. i have had water boil in my car with an outside temperature of 102 °F, obviously it will get much hotter in a car that is not silver, and with a hotter outside temperature. in general a lighter won’t blow up in a car in the bar area, which is where the test was taken, this is very similar to the variables in the death ray test and many others. the missing component that they should have tested is heating by light, that way clear lighters and dark lighters would get much hotter than the others, also figure some math to find out the change based on different factors, that way they can test for extremes, or at least tell the audience what variables might help create the result.
July 21, 2007 at 1:31 AMI had a lighter blow up in my truck and on an aluminum boat. The one in the truck was cheap but the one on the boat was a bic.
July 26, 2007 at 1:55 PMI had a lighter explode under the seat of a 1989 Ford Escort back in ‘95 while I was riding in it. All the shards seemed to come from a cheap 99 cent ones that come in a 10 pack.
July 26, 2007 at 3:45 PMI stopped to get a quick bite to eat at a local diner and had left my cheap lighter on the dashboard of my truck. The lighter was exposed to full sun on a black background with the outside temp around 92. When I returned to my truck after eating, I grabbed my lighter in my right hand. The lighter was extremely hot and I comtemplated tossing it onto the floor board to cool off. Too late, the lighter exploded in my hand, covering my truck in small bloody shards of plastic. My hand suffered only minor injuries and is healing up nicely, still, I will never ever leave a ligher on the dashboard again.
July 27, 2007 at 4:02 AMJust came across this site after deciding to check up on current BIC lighter news. My family was in a 10+ year battle against this company for a wrongful-death case. They fought dirty &, ultimately, my folks settled out of court with them for a paltry sum (folks were getting old & very battle weary..plus..first attorney screwed up the case).
My brother died in 1984 from a malfunctioning BIC lighter. His words: his lighter “exploded”. At the time, it was determined that debris could get under the wheel of these lighters…resulting in a leak. This usually resulted in “afterburns” & “flare-ups”. In lighters, butane is a highly pressurized gas. When it leaks…it’s odorless…colorless…undetectable. Given the right conditions & sources of ignition (ie static electricity)it can ignite. I saw enough evidence that demonstrated that this company had paid out a LOT of money to a LOT of folks who had incurred physical and/or property damage….on condition they not talk about it.
Don’t take my word for it. In addition to being national news at the time, it was on 60 MINUTES & Canadian CBC MARKETPLACE. This link is the only one still available….watch the QUICKTIME video linked on the page for proof via demonstration by an expert.
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/mp30/exploding_bics.html
August 3, 2007 at 5:57 PMmy lighter exploded in my car. then again i live in zimbabwe and the area i live in has days when the temperature can reach 118deg F and has gone higher.
August 10, 2007 at 12:52 AMI was on a my balcony on a hot CHicago day during a good 90-105 degree summer week. A bic lighter had been sitting in my ashtray with two other lighters, my balcony has no sun protection and this was at about 6:00 at night. I did not have my contacts on and well the lighter exploded when i lit it, in fact it blew right out the side. Fluid that was still inside of it dripped on my hand and started to burn I poured water on my hand rinsing the fluid off and was slightly burnt when the other two lighters exploded. Fact is however that well I was an idiot for not thinking that could happen. Oh that and I smoke prove that idiot thing.
August 12, 2007 at 4:47 PMi was watching the silver dollar myth last night and it waslabelled busted. the one where you try and get 5 shots off before a silver dollar hits the ground. It wuld vary as it depends on the size of you. If you were 6 ft 9 inches ten you could probarbly get more shotsoff…Just an idea
August 13, 2007 at 11:11 AMMy girlfriend’s lighter exploded in her car. It also was one of the cheap clear green ones. This was in the hot summer in GA. Luckily, there was nothing to ignite the fuel.
August 20, 2007 at 9:25 PMHow do you make the color and/or highlight(s)?
August 23, 2007 at 8:00 PMAlso, the Mythbusters can be Sneaky by promising something but not making it happen… AND, that’s not the Mythbusters way, when they want an explosion in a show, they GET it, right?
August 23, 2007 at 8:02 PMSorry, i give credit to James Cooper for that post
August 23, 2007 at 8:03 PMBob Munden has set numerous fast draw records. I believe he could shoot five times before the coin hit the ground. It only takes technique. The chump they had on the show Lightening Larry was able to fan the hammer 3 times before the coin hit. Bob can normally draw and thumb the hammer once, then when he fans he hits the hammer with the thumb and then with the pinki in one pass. All he has to do is fan twice and this myth is confirmed. FHM Magazine has a video of him getting off three shots with the thumb and fan method. It sounds like a machine gun but it’s a cowboy gun. Check out his site the guy is a stud.
August 23, 2007 at 11:32 PMjust now, my car alarm went crazy. i went to check and saw no damage, and inside my car, the dashboard was open. i looked inside and a green lighter had exploded, with green shards of plastic scattered everywhere. i couldn’t believe it exploded so i came online and google searched it. it is possible. (it was a green cheap plastic lighter) now i rolled down the windows and waiting for the gases to get out and worried it might explode my car =/
August 27, 2007 at 4:53 PMAugie, the issue wasn’t how often he was able to fan the hammer, it was the fact that the gun just wasn’t capable of firing fast enough. He fanned the hammer 3 times, but only got 2 shots out of it, because the mechanism failed. It’s possible that someone could fan it more quickly, but the gun simply wouldn’t be able to fire beyond a certain rate (the revolving mechanism on those old guns wasn’t as good as today’s weapons). Bob Munden doesn’t use old-fashioned replica guns, he uses modern revolvers that can handle the speed. He also customizes his weapons, so they aren’t the same as factory models. Also, in response to the comment about being especially tall… I don’t think Harvey Logan was taller than the average man, so it doesn’t change the circumstances of the myth. Logan was most likely NOT able to do what he claimed.
September 3, 2007 at 7:16 AMThe old west gunslinger which you refered to in the myth about dropping the coin and shooting 5 times was a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. The wild bunch was active in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. Semi automatic (self loading) pistols were being made in Europe at that time, the Bergmann No. 3 (1896) and the Mauser Model 1896 are two examples. These types were probably virtually unknown in the West, however, if a buckeroo could get one it would be a great way to win bets with other cowpokes. I would be interested to see the results if you used a period semi auto pistol in the tests.
September 3, 2007 at 7:45 PMIt’s a little off topic I suppose but does any one know the make/model/year of the white car they blew up the 500 lighters in?
September 6, 2007 at 9:25 PM“He also customizes his weapons, so they aren’t the same as factory models.”
And we all know that back in the good old days they ONLY used guns in their “factory” state. They NEVER customized them.
Give me a break. That’s like saying people only drive factory cars and never customize them.
September 11, 2007 at 9:04 AMFive minutes ago while working on computer I was almost blown out of my chair when the butane lighter in my jean pocket spontaneously expolded. POP just like a loud baloon. Scared the crap out of me as I didn’t know what the heck it was until I felt the cold butane on my skin. Can’t figure out why as there was nothing to trigger it. I guess it did me no harm other than the 5 years it took of my life. Immediately typed in “rxploding butane lighters and found this blog. Any ideas on why it may have exploded?
September 18, 2007 at 11:50 PMSorry for typos in previous comment but was still shaking from the experience, Forgot to mention that lighter was cheap plastic brand name “neon” and was almost full.
September 18, 2007 at 11:54 PMAre you sure it expoloded and it didn’t just break under the weight of you sitting on it, or tight jeans creating pressure which would break it - and not actually spontaniously explode? When the lighter plastic breaks it does pop but doesnt actually explode/ignite.
September 24, 2007 at 9:21 PMI had one explode on me. I left it on top of my cigarette pack on the passenger side seat. It was winter time and no sun was shining directly on it. I left for about two minutes, only to return and find a big hole burnt in my seat and fragments of the lighter all over the car. It was not a bic, it was some other brand, But this Can and did happen. I use zippo’s now
October 2, 2007 at 6:04 PMI once had a lighter shoot a flame-ball out the top because i dropped it and the metal piece fell off. When i tried to light it i got a fireball n my face.
October 10, 2007 at 4:28 PMin the lighter myth when a light would not explode in the car. i have something like that my brother told me he heard that a guy was siting on a chouch and had a cigaret that was lit and i touched his lighter and the lighter exploded is that like the car or is that a completle diffrent myth.
October 31, 2007 at 12:54 PMI have had a cheap cricket type lighter explode in my car as well. I wasn’t in the car when it happened, but there were little bits of plastic everywhere when I returned to the car on a hot summer day.
November 14, 2007 at 9:52 PMI agree with Eric, what is that car and what a shame to wreck it. Looks like a mazda coupe of some sort, a little like a R100
November 26, 2007 at 4:28 AMActually i think it is 1967 Toyota corona coupe or toyota corona RT50/51
November 26, 2007 at 5:07 AMIt was the next day after the broadcast of the exploding lighting, that my wife ask me if she should move the lighter off the dash before we go to work. I said it was not important because mythbusters said it will not explode unless in excessive tempature. When we came home from work, I opened the door of the truck and lighter pieces was everywhere and the dash and the front window was cracked.
November 26, 2007 at 7:43 PMI had a lighter blow up in my dryer 2 days ago. I was up stairs in my house and heard a boom form the basement, went to the basement door and the smoke detector was going off. The lighter had blown up and the door of my dryer had been blown open by the explosion and my clothes were on fire!!
December 5, 2007 at 10:16 AMI was peacefully drinking my morning coffee and BOOM>> my butane ligther blew up. In my house and not in the sun. Sounded like a gun shot and I can’t even find any of the parts anywhere. Wow !!
December 8, 2007 at 11:12 AM““He also customizes his weapons, so they aren’t the same as factory models.”
And we all know that back in the good old days they ONLY used guns in their “factory” state. They NEVER customized them.
Give me a break. That’s like saying people only drive factory cars and never customize them.”
You forgot something called metalurgy. The metal parts back then weren’t as good as the ones now. I wouldn’t be surprised if something would break at the speeds Munden could make them work. Heck, I remember reading about how in shootouts with indians the cowboys would have to hold the hammer back with their thumb then simply let go (bypassing the trigger) to fire because the firing mechanism had broken! That was under normal use.
December 12, 2007 at 6:22 AMthis is nice to know but i think that u should have used a cheaper lighter to
December 12, 2007 at 9:12 AMHi!
December 22, 2007 at 2:59 PMIt happened me twice: a lighter left in the car in the summer sun exploded…well…I didn’t personally see it, but in both cases I found my lighter in pieces getting back to my car…I guess it depends on the ligher model.
The lighter can ‘explode’ if hit with a golf club hard enough. The rapid decompression of the gas will make an explosion of sorts and a loud bang. Same for a really fat person sitting on a lighter in their pocket. If they crack the plastic the effect will be the same. I should think that they would get a nasty sting in the process.
January 8, 2008 at 5:10 AMit just seems like the old western gunslingers could pull their guns out alot faster than anyone today. they never had safeties on either
February 3, 2008 at 1:07 AMWith the final gunslinger myth (hangmans noose), would shooting the rope higher up make a difference? Looking at the slow motion replays there seems to be a lot of movement in the rope (due to its length and the weight on the bottom), would shooting the rope at the top (where it drops from the wood it is wrapped around) cause less movement and prevent excessive deflection?
I sort of imagine it would be easier to shoot through a tense rope than a slacker one.
March 4, 2008 at 5:56 AMI work in an aluminum smelter in kitimat, BC and Bic style lighters are banned from the plant because of injuries and actual fatalities that have happened at other smelters. Consider having a Bic lighter in your pocket while breaking the crust on molten aluminum which is up to 900 Celsius.
March 9, 2008 at 7:41 AMIn the car, I think the amount of fuel has a lot to do with this. I had a lighter explode in my car; it was a clear cheaper one. I think the gas that was in it expanded enough to cause it to blow. If this was revisited with a cheaper clear lighter with 1/4 of fuel, I think it would blow in a hot car….
March 9, 2008 at 9:26 PMWhile sitting in an Air Conditioned building in Arizona today I had one of those Clear Ace Type Lighters that a convenience store is giving away when you buy 2 packs of smokes explode in my Polo Shirt Pocket. It was between 1/2 and 3/4 full. Nothing hot in the area I work in… I sit at a desk talking to customers about computer issues.
March 24, 2008 at 12:34 PMThis is the second time in just a few months that a lighter has exploded while sitting in the center console of my car.
April 2, 2008 at 1:22 AMBoth times I was out of the car, returned to find bits and pieces all over the car.
Scary. It was not a hot day. This is truly frightening. Has anyone heard of a car burning up because of this?
Any recourse over something like this?
It’s downright dangerous.
I have had a lighter explode in the dryer. There was no flames or anything, but the pressure inside the lighter was enough to cause it to explode. It was loud enough to wake everyone up in the house.
April 29, 2008 at 4:41 PMA blue lighter was sitting on my cars dashboard.It was a hot day..!When i got off work and got into the car I noticed plastic fragments on the dashboard and the floor of my car..{ It did EXPLODE in the heat }For me It was { CONFIRMED }!
June 10, 2008 at 4:25 PMI just had a cheapo MK chinese lighter explode yesterday while sitting by the pool. I live in No. Massachusetts but it was a hot and muggy day. In the 90’s and the lighter was in the front zip pocket of a Koozie beverage container. The zip pocket was half open. Only in the sun for one hour and the lighter was about 1/8th
June 11, 2008 at 6:04 PMfull (liquid) I got the patent number, name
of the moron chinaman who invented it as well as the idiots who manufacture it in honk kong. Even found the stock trading info on the co. now i will find the exporter. It exploded in 6 perfect pieces.
I will take pics. of it. all the pieces are perfect sharp projectiles that can and will upon explosion enter ones skin and really will penetrate an eyeball. The pieces fit back together exact also. Did not glue them of course as evidence will be need for a few hefty lawsuits. Contact me if interested in the co’s name etc. or ??? bonham3@dialup.cc
I can attest! A lighter will explode on a dashboard. When I was in high school and absolutely should not be smoking I returned to my car after school and found what looked like a be be bullet notch in my windshield. The hole was made from within and below it on the dash was all the little parts that once made up the lighter that was sitting there. I will never forget because it was the first damamge I made to my very first car and it was really hard to lie to my folks and claim it was a rock. Atlanta GA, Early summer & hot as hell my lighter exploded and with enough force to damage the windshield. Reading this makes me no longer trust their findings… WRONG!
June 26, 2008 at 4:08 PM