Comment: from a post seen on "Truckingboards.com"
Dear friends,
I just wanted to pass this along to you because I don't want to see anyone
get hurt.
The sister of a good friend of mine is in the hospital tonight, and for a
reason that might surprise you.
She decided to make some microwave popcorn last night, and stuck the bag
of popcorn in the microwave. While she was waiting, she was leaning
against the countertop where the microwave was, facing away from the
microwave.
Now, this girl has a big tattoo on her lower back. It's one of those with
twirling rose vines and flowers and some Chinese lettering. She was
wearing a midriff top so it was exposed, and it was pretty close to the
front of the microwave.
I'm not a physicist, but apparently the inks used in tattoos have some
phosphorus in them, which is the same phosphorus that the Navy uses for
those really nasty bombs. Something about the proximity to the microwave
ignited that phosphorus - which was imbedded in her skin!
Her back caught on fire, and it was one of those chemical fires that can't
be put out with water and is invisible to the naked eye. She had to call
911 and then couldn't put out the flames until the paramedics got there
and used one of those special chemical fire extinguishers on her. Tonight
she's in the hospital awaiting skin grafts, with third degree burns over
20 percent of her body. The doctor said that this is not the first case
that he's seen of this, and that it's getting more common as tattoo sizes
increase. Women with lower back tattoos are particularly vulnerable given
the size and height of many of those tattoos.
I'm writing because I want to warn people of this, and please pass it
along to other people you know. Do NOT stand in front of the microwave if
you have one of those big tattoos. If you do, be sure that you either wrap
the tattoo in Saran Wrap, or that you spray the tattoo with one of those
vegetable cooking sprays that will lubricate it and keep it from igniting.
Thanks for listening, and be careful!
