Studies

Studies

by Mike Masnick


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It's Official: No Known Risk For Using Mobile Phone While Filling Up

from the not-a-one dept

A few weeks back, we noted how odd it was that a state senator was trying to ban mobile phones at the gas station pump based on what appeared to be an urban legend about exploding pumps. Lots of folks in the comments pointed to the show Mythbusters that tried (very hard) to use a mobile phone to make gasoline vapors to explode and found it wasn't possible. Now there's a bit more evidence that you probably don't need to worry. A researcher in the UK has been studying the matter and can find no evidence that any gas station fire in the past eleven years around the world was caused by a mobile phone. Certainly makes the senator's comments that "it is a known, documented fact that using a cell phone in proximity of the gas pump can cause an electrical charge that can cause a fire that can ignite the pump" seem a bit odd. Apparently she should recheck her documented facts.

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  1. congresswoman=facts

    by promytius syl - Mar 21st, 2005 @ 7:16am

    Please do not use the above two words in any one sentence. Or congressman/facts. Or logical, or effective, or conscious, ethical, etc. Greed, avarice, egomania, power-hungry, etc. can be freely combined in any sentence regarding the 'representatives' of said adjectives.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. No Subject Given

    by Nigel Pond - Mar 22nd, 2005 @ 12:33pm

    This myth was busted by the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters some time ago...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  3. Re: No Subject Given

    by Mike - Mar 22nd, 2005 @ 2:44pm

    Which is exactly what I said in the post... but, even so, that was just trying to make the explosion happen. This study looked back at historical data to show that it's NEVER happened.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  4. prayer at gas stations

    by Bill Butler - Mar 21st, 2005 @ 2:50am

    Prayer at gas stations has been linked to spontaneous sparks causing explosions and mass death. The power of God generates an static charge as it enters the recipient. Hopefully, legislation will ensue banning this practice. I think that this is a perfect fit for the current Congress...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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