r/Damnthatsinteresting
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u/johnaldmilligan
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8d ago
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This is why methanol fires can be so dangerous. They are often invisible. GIF
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u/RabidFisherman3411 8d ago
I'm an old race fan. Back in the day, many race cars ran on Methanol. Occasionally, during pit stops, fuel would get spilled and ignite.
It was horrible. People would be running around, trying to get help, and no one = or few people = knew they were literally burning up.
I shit you not. Youtube it for examples.
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u/meateatr 8d ago
Wouldn't it be super easy to put a chemistry lab style emergency shower at every pitstop?
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u/moeburn 8d ago
They don't do anything safety related until someone gets hurt first. And then what they did was just stop using methanol.
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u/TheAJGman 8d ago
Safety regulations are often written in blood.
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u/PhilxBefore 8d ago •
They used to be written in methanol but nobody could see them.
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u/brightblueson 8d ago
Most of the people involved in nascar don’t believe in science. So that’s a stretch asking for that.
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u/StrLord_Who 8d ago
Who is upvoting this? Who says something like that and actually thinks it's true?
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u/SSPeteCarroll 8d ago
people who see nascar and go "lol dumb rednecks"
The engineers and mechanics on race teams are absolutely brilliant people.
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u/one800higgins 8d ago
Bums me out to see it still. Been working in the industry for the last 8 years and it’s absolutely insane seeing the level of science, engineering, technology, and software that goes into all of this.
The manufacturing and team side of the sport is quite different from the fan side.
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u/Euphorium 7d ago
South Park literally made fun of the people in this thread. Anybody that’s actually watched a pre/post race interview with the drivers and team knows there’s so much more to this shit than “drive fast go left”.
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u/Pollomonteros 8d ago
At least for motorsports,most safety regulations are built on the blood of the drivers and supporting teams
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u/DMZack 8d ago
TOM CRUISE!! TOM CRUISE, USE YOUR WITCHCRAFT TO PUT THIS FIRE OUT!!!
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u/AccurateFault8677 8d ago
I told somebody this tidbit after they described this scene.
They were like " that makes it a lot less funny."
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u/impreprex 7d ago edited 7d ago
So that's what that scent was all about...
Edit: SCENE! Ahh fuck help me Oprah Winfrey!!!!!
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u/kindquail502 8d ago
First one I thought of was Rick Mears getting his face burned up under his helmet during a pit fire. He still has the scars.
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u/heyjimb 8d ago
I used to race on meth. We kept water everywhere to dose the fire.
Best smell ever? Nomex after racing on methanol. Pulling on a helmet a week later was my favorite smell.
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u/SheepD0g 8d ago
I dragged with a stage 2-methanol injection system that we’d cut 50/50 with water to fill the tank each time. Smelled like going fast a fuck
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u/Joshin0ya 8d ago
This gives alot more credence to Ricky Bobby running around his car after that crash
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u/ClassifiedName 8d ago
I just posted this elsewhere in the thread but you're right. It seems horrifying but also (I feel guilty saying it) a little funny with all the jumping around.
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u/moldyshrimp 8d ago
Methanol is actually still used is some different racing disciplines. I believe indycar and monster trucks run on methanol to name a few. It’s also not 100% methanol in most it’s usually 85% or an E85 mix.
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u/hunmingnoisehdb 7d ago
There was an accident in Singapore that happened when an illegally modified car crashed while racing around the neighbourhood. Car was burning invisibly, one of the girlfriends ran to the car, caught fire, walked away and started rolling on the ground. No one realised she was burning for like a minute. She made a recovery after a stay in the ICU. Her boyfriend and 3 others in that car burnt to death.
This only happened a couple years back and the full video of the crash and invisible burning was on youtube.
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u/MotherOfSomething 8d ago
The experiment is only partially complete. We need to throw something in there for science.
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u/founderofshoneys 8d ago
I used to work at a science museum and did exactly that. Usually various metal salts to make colors but also lots of "experiments" unsanctioned by my employers.
I think the coolest thing I found to do with with methanol was to slosh a small amount inside a 5 gallon water cooler jug, get the vapors going, then turn it on its side and light the back. It would rocket forward with a force you couldn't get from isopropanol.
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u/SquirrelAkl 7d ago
This is exactly the sort of stuff my Dad loved to do. He was a chemistry teacher. I don’t think they let him light methanol at school though ;)
Thanks for your cool story, making me smile and remember my Dad <3 Shout out to the science nerds - they’re the best people!
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u/fluffycow34 8d ago
I was hoping he would roast a marshmallow or hot dog or something
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u/nintendojunkie17 8d ago
Am I the only one who thought he was holding a Nokia 3310?
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u/Rage1073 8d ago
Only thing that could survive that fire
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u/1singleduck 8d ago
Thousands of years into the future, aliens will dicover the ruins of a civilisation, and a couple of electronic devices still on 89% battery.
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u/boopbeep66 8d ago
So you’re saying Ricky Bobby really was on fire.
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u/RexNebular518 8d ago
Say you love crepes.
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u/boopbeep66 8d ago
Hey, look Frenchy, I thought about. So why don’t you go ahead and just break my arm.
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u/BlueWVU 8d ago
I love really thin pancakes.
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u/newveganwhodis 8d ago
I love how Ricky literally says, "those really thin pancakes? I love those!"
and the all ignore it and don't count that. such a great movie
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u/ClassifiedName 8d ago
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u/krusader42 8d ago
It's only in the last couple decades that Indy cars have used ethanol. That pit fire video was in the era that they did use pure methanol.
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u/jadedflux 8d ago edited 8d ago
"Funny" enough, yes. Talladega Nights was parodying an incident that did happen in 1981 caused by a methanol fire
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u/Ok-Champ-5854 8d ago
And the safety people were fucking on top of it. To not see actual flames and recognize that the dude is on fire is on point.
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u/Upper_Version155 8d ago
Man I was going to say he obviously wasn’t because you would see the effects of the fire. But how resistant to burning are those suits? Maybe it would be plausible that a methanol fire started and he put it out by rolling it out.
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u/317blazeit 8d ago
Ik for sure formula one used to have methanol fuel. You can look on YouTube I’m sure and find fires that you can’t see but dudes are jumping around like mad men
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u/marcomcarneiro 8d ago
New fear unlocked?
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u/insane_contin 8d ago
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u/rellko 8d ago
N e w f e a r c o m p o u n d e d
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u/jerryschuggs 8d ago
Man imagine what all that fire retardant does to your lungs
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u/Connguy Interested 8d ago
"The problem is they cannot see these flames. The flames are invisible, so seeing them is not possible. The terrible thing is that these flames cannot be seen. The fire marshals are trying to put out the the flames, but it is difficult because they cannot see the flames."
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u/dL8 8d ago
You should do a series similar to this, showing people how shit happens in their households ,that they dont even see/hear/smell until its too late.
Good vid man 👍
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u/johnaldmilligan 8d ago
Thanks! Good idea! I have many ideas for that and the educational background
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u/VahnNoaGala 8d ago
Would it be terribly dangerous to throw something like paper in this fire, or something else that would burn up, like a sock or something? It would be so cool to see something burn to ash from invisible flames
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u/Stakbrok 8d ago
If you were to throw a sock into a burning bowl of methanol, the sock would not simply turn into ashes without a seemingly visible cause. Instead, the sock would catch fire and start burning visibly as it is made of organic material (like cotton or wool) which produces sooty flames when burned.
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u/johnaldmilligan 8d ago
Thanks! Good idea! I have many ideas for that and the educational background
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u/notmike_ 8d ago
This is why you add NaCl (table salt) so the flame will be visible.
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u/LiveFreeDie8 8d ago
Visible like it explodes?
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u/notmike_ 8d ago
Nah, it just makes the flame visible. You can think of it like a flame test. When electrons are excited, and then collapse back to their lower energy state, they emit a characteristic waveform (light). So you add a little salt, get a little color, and suddenly your non-luminous flame becomes visible.
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u/Icy-Doctor1983 8d ago
Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?
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u/superlgn 8d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/breaking-bad-aaron-paul-yeah-science-QC7UQbxq89MnL9r6AN
Edit: meh, how do people do Giphy images?
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u/Deezus1229 8d ago
We keep our methanol in an explosives cabinet far away from where the actual work is done in our lab. I knew it was flammable but I didn't realize it was terrifyingly flammable.
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u/thinklikeacriminal 8d ago
The special boom boom cabinet wasn’t a clue?
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u/Deezus1229 8d ago
Not really because we're required to keep anything even remotely flammable in it.
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u/AwesomeHorses 8d ago
WTF I didn’t know fire could be invisible! New fear unlocked
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u/Traskk01 8d ago
The visible part of fire that we can see is made up of particles of burning ash. Since alcohol burns so cleanly it doesn’t throw out the particles.
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u/Nintastio 8d ago
I have some really old nitro methane that I have no use for anymore so I use it to start fires. It’s kinda neat because as soon as the wood catches you can start to see the flames.
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u/Bordie3D_Alexa 8d ago
I was wondering why they were recording this on a flip phone until I realized I was fucking stupid
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u/Mumblesandtumbles 8d ago
When I was younger, I ran an alcohol carb on my go ped. The tank had cracked and had been flinging the fuel on my pant leg, felt the moisture, but thought it was sweat. Then, I accidentally dropped my cigarette, and my pant leg caught fire, and the tank. Took me a second to realize I was burning.
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u/DaleEarnhardt2k 8d ago
I recently watched a video of nascar racers that were on fire but it was methanol so no one really knew what was happening. Crazy shit.
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u/Insert_buttplug 8d ago
So now I have to add invisible fires to the list of all my worries. Fuck me.
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u/Proper-Clock710 8d ago
So if there’s smoke there is a fire, but if there is no smoke and no fire there could still be a fire?
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u/Wonderful-Shock8360 8d ago
Sometimes surgeons use this method to disinfect surgical site. I worked with one who didn't realised the fire was out of control until he felt the heat on his hand and his gloves started to kinda melting.
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u/Par31 8d ago
Well this makes the big cabinet full of Methanol at my work even more scary. It's already got all these warnings and fire signs all over it.
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u/shiftycyber 8d ago
One of my church leaders had bad methanol burn scars on his hands. He was a good scientist for sugar and his methanol caught fire. He put his hand in it and started screaming but none of his co workers knew what was going on. Melted most of his skin and caused gnarly nerve damage. Cool dude though
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u/FrogMissileTrebuchet 8d ago
Anybody else see that YouTube short with the firefighter that caught on from a movie or smth
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u/Cake-Over 8d ago
Race car's fuel catching fire in the pits. Drivers or crew members jumping around like crazy while immolating in invisible flames.
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u/localguideseo 8d ago
Back when they used to use methanol for race cars invisible fire engulfs pit crews
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u/TwinPitsCleaner 8d ago
Hence in Cart and Indy racing, when someone says they're on fire, you believe them. (See Denny Hulme at Indy)
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u/Dismal_Visit_7305 8d ago
There’s video of I want to say a Formula1 race where the car and driver were on fire but no one knew and anyone that got near them also caught fire. It’s a weird thing to watch
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u/TheDunadan29 7d ago
There was a video of an invisible methane fire, and damn, looks goofy as the people are freaking the hell out, until you realize it's a methane fire and those guys are also on fire.
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u/greencatshomie 7d ago
Can we talk about how that falcon tube has a built in base??
Freaking awesome, I’m ordering them
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u/Zealousideal_Gear_66 7d ago
If it wasn't for Cal Naughton Jr's quick thinking Ricky Bobby would have burnt to death from this invisible fire
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u/InterestingAd5008 7d ago
Wow if a human burned in it would i show how burns differentiate each layer of body.?
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u/NickelCubicle 7d ago
It might depend on the purity of the methanol, but I've used this for alcohol stoves when camping, and you can usually see the flame in low light, so it's not completely invisible. It's just invisible in most light.
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u/Free_Ad9395 7d ago
That is the exact reason many race cars have halon fire extinguising systems. And the same reason all drivers wear multi layered fire suits. Seeing a friend get severly burned is not a pleasant experience.
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u/throwaway_12358134 8d ago
NASA used to use the broom method for detecting invisible fires. Basically they had someone patrol the pipeline with a broom held out bristles first and if the bristles caught fire they knew to stop and report the fire.