Funky Fact Friday

Photos: Tampa Bay Times

One of the most famous alleged cases of spontaneous human combustion is that of Mary Reeser, whose death in 1951 in St. Petersburg, Florida, was attributed by some to spontaneous human combustion. On the fateful night Mary's remains were discovered in her apartment, almost entirely consumed by fire, leaving only a few bone fragments and a shrunken skull. The official investigation suggested that a dropped cigarette may have been the cause, but the idea of spontaneous combustion persists in popular culture.