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From: paj@mrcu (Paul Johnson)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,sci.bio,sci.chem,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Mysterious exploding fish
Message-ID: <522@argus.mrcu>
Date: 30 May 90 08:41:16 GMT
References: <1990May18.212647.19155@actrix.co.nz>
Reply-To: paj@uk.co.gec-mrc (Paul Johnson)
Organization: GEC-Marconi Research Centre, Great Baddow, UK
Lines: 58
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>OK skeptics and scientists, please explain this event, which happened
>here in New Zealand yesterday:

>A women was preparing a flounder (a type of flatfish) for cooking.
>She had cut off the head, and was slicing along the backbone with 
>a sharp knife on a wooden cutting board.

>Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a flash of light!  She called
>the police, and investigation showed the following:

> o  There were burn marks INSIDE the fish
> o  A chunk of the metal of the knife had been taken out

>The fish had been purchased recently from her normal supplier.

>Explanations, anyone?  This is *not* an urban myth.  It happened.


OK.  I enjoy flexing my skeptical muscles, so here goes.

First: evidence, sources.  Where did you hear of this? local paper,
radio news, friend of a friend?  What evidence do you have that this
was not an urban myth (I leave aside the possibility that this is your
idea of a joke, or maybe hers.  Some people will do anything to get on
telly).  Note that local and national media have been known to
propogate urban myths, so having heard it on the news is no proof.

Assuming it actually happened, here are some off-the-cuff theories:

Flounders are bottom-dwellers, eating random garbage that sinks down
from above.  It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that this
flounder ingested a chunk of explosive which detonated when it was cut
open.  Not knowing how to gut fish or anything about the anatomy of
flounders, I cannot comment on whether this could place it near the
backbone.  The explosive could have come from military exercises,
geological surveys or illegal fish dynamiting (to name three possible
sources).  Pressure, age and environment would combine to make it
unstable and likely to go off at a touch.

OR

Perhaps the fish was not too fresh.  Maybe some methane or something
built up inside the fish.  Ignition is a problem: I can't quite see a
spark from the knife doing it.  On the other hand there would be some
pretty weird chemistry in a rotting fish, and maybe some minor
component of the gas self-ignited on contact with air.  UV from
sunlight might do this as well.

Thats two guesses to keep you going.  Anyone actualy analyse the fish
for residues from explosives?  How big was the chunk of knife that
went missing?

Paul.
-- 
Paul Johnson                               UUCP: <world>!mcvax!ukc!gec-mrc!paj
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