Mystery AtlasWick Effect
The forensic explanation for cases of severe, localised human-body burning in which a body's melting subcutaneous fat is absorbed by nearby clothing or fabric acting as a wick, sustaining a slow, intensely localised fire that can consume much of a body while limiting damage to the surrounding room.
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How this topic links to the people, places, and ideas around it — drawn from our knowledge graph.
Related Mysteries
- Death of Mary Reeser2 July 1951
Wick Effect attempts to explain Death of Mary Reeser — The FBI laboratory's 1951 conclusion, later reinforced by forensic scientist John DeHaan's 1998 experimental replication for the BBC science programme QED.
Concepts & Beliefs
Wick Effect attempts to explain Spontaneous Human Combustion — Forensic science's mainstream explanation for the great majority of documented apparent SHC cases, given a plausible external ignition source.