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If you're being literal, they didn't actually blow up, and the person removed them from their head before they started smoldering. The biggest problem for OP i

If you're being literal, they didn't actually blow up, and the person removed them from their head before they started smoldering. The biggest problem for OP is that they messed up their first response, maybe due to inadequate fire safety training or just panic. After throwing the headphones out on the porch, they should have jumped in the shower and stood in running cold-ish water for at least 15 minutes. This is the basic rule that applies to any situation with a burn, if it's from spilling coffee or touching a hot pan or whatever. It's what we learn in primary school. I would not be surprised, if they do go to court, that this would substantially reduce the compensation for OP.

pdpi 5y ago
Chemical burns don’t play by the same rules as fire, and water sometimes makes things worse. Lithium is an alkaline metal so, if I had the presence of mind to think about that, I’d wonder whether lithium batteries are one of the “keep away from water” sort of things.
- semi-extrinsic 5y ago
  Lithium-ion batteries don't contain metallic lithium, so water is perfectly fine. The current state-of-the-art method for extinguishing burning electric vehicles is that firefighters use a special rig to lift the whole car into an open top container (like you use for waste on construction sites) and then fill that with water and let it sit for a few days.
romwell 5y ago
>The biggest problem for OP is that they messed up their first response, maybe due to inadequate fire safety training Maybe due to that training not being required to use headphones. And maybe due to no information of what to do in such case being included in the product. For the sake of all that's holy, even something as mundane as epoxy glue comes with clear instructions of what to do in case it gets on your skin or in your eyes. Bose QC-35 II headphones may cause significantly more severe damage when malfunctioning, and they come with a hefty instruction manual. Perhaps if Bose included the fire safety training information there > It's what we learn in primary school. Our education standards differ wildly between school districts, counties, and states. There is no federal standard. What you learned in primary school is not what everyone learns in primary school. If knowing this information is critical to the safety of the user, it should be in bold letters on the packaging.
- semi-extrinsic 5y ago
  > If knowing this information is critical to the safety of the user, it should be in bold letters on the packaging. Knowing this information is critical for your general safety as an adult human. OP might as well have burnt themselves on an ovenproof dish on the counter that they forgot was hot. We cannot make a society such that adults never risk sustaining burn injuries. Thus we need to educate everyone on first response for burn injuries. And yes that's in school, but also in society as a whole, like what the NFPA does with public outreach. As lithium batteries become more prevalent, we need to also include that into the education, sure, but then it's more to do with the much higher watt-hour products like electric scooters and bicycles, where you can burn your house down in cases like this.
  - romwell 5y ago
    >Knowing this information is critical for your general safety as an adult human. OP might as well have burnt themselves on an ovenproof dish on the counter that they forgot was hot. You are, with a straight face, saying that headphones are in the same danger category as ovenproof dishes straight out of the oven. This analogy is flawed. Eating out of a dish which is room-temperature initially won't make it burning-hot. Headphones have never been a fire hazard until very recently. At the very least, the potentially-self-immolating headphones should be distinguished from the regular-not-gonna-kill-you ones. Additionally, the labels that indicate a lithium battery inside should be clearly visible, and not removable. There is no way for me to know if someone else's headphones pose a risk to me otherwise.

pdpi 5y ago

Chemical burns don’t play by the same rules as fire, and water sometimes makes things worse. Lithium is an alkaline metal so, if I had the presence of mind to think about that, I’d wonder whether lithium batteries are one of the “keep away from water” sort of things.

semi-extrinsic 5y ago
Lithium-ion batteries don't contain metallic lithium, so water is perfectly fine. The current state-of-the-art method for extinguishing burning electric vehicles is that firefighters use a special rig to lift the whole car into an open top container (like you use for waste on construction sites) and then fill that with water and let it sit for a few days.

romwell 5y ago

>The biggest problem for OP is that they messed up their first response, maybe due to inadequate fire safety training Maybe due to that training not being required to use headphones. And maybe due to no information of what to do in such case being included in the product. For the sake of all that's holy, even something as mundane as epoxy glue comes with clear instructions of what to do in case it gets on your skin or in your eyes. Bose QC-35 II headphones may cause significantly more severe damage when malfunctioning, and they come with a hefty instruction manual. Perhaps if Bose included the fire safety training information there > It's what we learn in primary school. Our education standards differ wildly between school districts, counties, and states. There is no federal standard. What you learned in primary school is not what everyone learns in primary school. If knowing this information is critical to the safety of the user, it should be in bold letters on the packaging.

semi-extrinsic 5y ago
> If knowing this information is critical to the safety of the user, it should be in bold letters on the packaging. Knowing this information is critical for your general safety as an adult human. OP might as well have burnt themselves on an ovenproof dish on the counter that they forgot was hot. We cannot make a society such that adults never risk sustaining burn injuries. Thus we need to educate everyone on first response for burn injuries. And yes that's in school, but also in society as a whole, like what the NFPA does with public outreach. As lithium batteries become more prevalent, we need to also include that into the education, sure, but then it's more to do with the much higher watt-hour products like electric scooters and bicycles, where you can burn your house down in cases like this.
- romwell 5y ago
  >Knowing this information is critical for your general safety as an adult human. OP might as well have burnt themselves on an ovenproof dish on the counter that they forgot was hot. You are, with a straight face, saying that headphones are in the same danger category as ovenproof dishes straight out of the oven. This analogy is flawed. Eating out of a dish which is room-temperature initially won't make it burning-hot. Headphones have never been a fire hazard until very recently. At the very least, the potentially-self-immolating headphones should be distinguished from the regular-not-gonna-kill-you ones. Additionally, the labels that indicate a lithium battery inside should be clearly visible, and not removable. There is no way for me to know if someone else's headphones pose a risk to me otherwise.