Health Warning: Your Smartphone Can Explode In Your Pants

Most modern smartphones are thin and light enough to comfortably fit inside your pants pocket. However, this can occasionally turn into a grievous error (complete with grievous bodily harm), as a woman in Switzerland recently learned to her sorrow…

Smartphones are often described as the 207th bone in the human body — and just like the rest of your skeleton, they have been known to spontaneously combust without warning.

An 18-year Swiss woman suffered severe burns to her leg this week after her Samsung Galaxy S III allegedly exploded in her pants. According to a Le Martin newspaper report, the woman had to have her pants surgically removed from her burnt leg.

The above photo is what the phone looked like after the incident — can you imagine that kind of fire damage taking place right next to your unprotected flesh? (You can see what it did to the unfortunate lady’s leg here.)

While definitely rare, smartphones have been known to occasionally catch fire and the trend is apparently on the rise. This is usually caused by an overheating lithium battery combined with insufficient ventilation — in other words, your pocket is the perfect breeding ground. Overcharging your phone can also cause the same issue.

While the chances of your phone turning into a pocket bomb are extremely small, excessive heat can still ruin your phone. You should try to avoid third-party chargers and batteries, especially cheap no-name brands. Also, if you notice your phone feels hotter than usual, immediately switch it off — that Facebook status can wait.

[Via Gizmodo]


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