PSP Spontaneously Combusts, Burns Hole in Kid's Pants
February 6, 2008 5:02 PM Subscribe
A PSP residing in the pocket of a Michigan elementary school student caught fire in the kid's pants and caused burns to the boy's inner leg. The boy escaped serious harm, only being treated for minor burns at the hospital. But maybe Chen should start considering what he puts or doesn't put in his pants.
Well, at least Jack Thompson can now honestly say that videogames are causing injury to our nations' youth.
posted by uaudio at 5:11 PM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by uaudio at 5:11 PM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
"...a fire broke out in a young boy's pants..."
Beautifully worded
posted by inconsequentialist at 5:11 PM on February 6, 2008
Beautifully worded
posted by inconsequentialist at 5:11 PM on February 6, 2008
I can only imagine the boy's classmate who, only moments before, had uttered the word that would change is life. He was only foolin' when he told the boy that he was indeed a "liar" and suggested that his pants were "on fire."
I like to imagine the look on this classmate's face, one of shock and fear and wonder of the new power he wields, the power to set his classmates' pants on fire. I imagine him running off into the playground, because, for him, today is a new day.
posted by gc at 5:24 PM on February 6, 2008 [11 favorites]
I like to imagine the look on this classmate's face, one of shock and fear and wonder of the new power he wields, the power to set his classmates' pants on fire. I imagine him running off into the playground, because, for him, today is a new day.
posted by gc at 5:24 PM on February 6, 2008 [11 favorites]
I'd be interested to know if he had rechargeable batteries in it. I've had them burn me when I was carrying a spare set in my pocket.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:27 PM on February 6, 2008
posted by Dave Faris at 5:27 PM on February 6, 2008
Judging from the picture in the second link, it was the rechargeable battery that caught fire.
posted by nzero at 5:51 PM on February 6, 2008
posted by nzero at 5:51 PM on February 6, 2008
I like the phrasing in the first article. What inconsequentialist said, then:
"burning a hole in his pocket"
"A teacher at the school managed to separate the boy from his gaming system"
I don't know kotaku, so I don't know its style... are these all intentional?
posted by qvantamon at 5:57 PM on February 6, 2008
"burning a hole in his pocket"
"A teacher at the school managed to separate the boy from his gaming system"
I don't know kotaku, so I don't know its style... are these all intentional?
posted by qvantamon at 5:57 PM on February 6, 2008
The battery included with the PSP is rechargeable, of course (what modern portable appliance doesn't have rechargeable batteries nowadays?). I found this strange, since my own first-gen PSP rarely heats up, even when charging. Without being able to read the article, I'm guessing the kid tried out the famous "Pandora's Battery mod" in order to modify his PSP in order to, er, "liberate" it.
Said mod involves cracking open the provided battery and playing around with the innards in order to eventually install a new firmware (think of it as the underlying operating system) on the PSP, a procedure where a mistake can easily be made, with a possible burnt leg as a result.
posted by papafrita at 6:07 PM on February 6, 2008
Said mod involves cracking open the provided battery and playing around with the innards in order to eventually install a new firmware (think of it as the underlying operating system) on the PSP, a procedure where a mistake can easily be made, with a possible burnt leg as a result.
posted by papafrita at 6:07 PM on February 6, 2008
Ugh. What I meant to say I found strange was the fact that the batt heated up to the point of combustion. And yes, Kotaku's style is quite lighthearted, since it's a gaming site after all.
posted by papafrita at 6:09 PM on February 6, 2008
posted by papafrita at 6:09 PM on February 6, 2008
I'm guessing the kid tried out the famous "Pandora's Battery mod" in order to modify his PSP in order to, er, "liberate" it.
It's not out of the realm of possibility, but I kind of doubt that is what happened. Reason being that the hardware hack version of Pandora's battery, once made, will no longer run the PSP normally. In other words, you can't use it to play games, only to boot the PSP into recovery mode.
posted by nzero at 6:13 PM on February 6, 2008
It's not out of the realm of possibility, but I kind of doubt that is what happened. Reason being that the hardware hack version of Pandora's battery, once made, will no longer run the PSP normally. In other words, you can't use it to play games, only to boot the PSP into recovery mode.
posted by nzero at 6:13 PM on February 6, 2008
Sony's had problems with OEM Li-Ion laptop batteries catching fire. Perhaps this is related?
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:21 PM on February 6, 2008
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:21 PM on February 6, 2008
Pandora's battery can be enabled and reversed on a software level.
Sucks for the kid though. Burnout Legends in your pocket? Not so great.
posted by porn in the woods at 6:57 PM on February 6, 2008
Sucks for the kid though. Burnout Legends in your pocket? Not so great.
posted by porn in the woods at 6:57 PM on February 6, 2008
A teacher at the school managed to separate the boy from his gaming system, after which a lockdown was instituted at the school to facilitate emergency personnel reaching the injured young man, whose burns were treated on school grounds before being transported to a local hospital. [emphasis mine]
Back in the '70s we joked that school was "prison" but we didn't have lockdowns. Hell widdat.
posted by pax digita at 7:06 PM on February 6, 2008
Back in the '70s we joked that school was "prison" but we didn't have lockdowns. Hell widdat.
posted by pax digita at 7:06 PM on February 6, 2008
Pandora's battery can be enabled and reversed on a software level.
...which isn't what we were discussing. We were talking about the hardware hack which could cause a fire. The software version just rewrites the firmware on the battery.
posted by nzero at 7:44 PM on February 6, 2008
...which isn't what we were discussing. We were talking about the hardware hack which could cause a fire. The software version just rewrites the firmware on the battery.
posted by nzero at 7:44 PM on February 6, 2008
What the hell is wrong with that second article? Are they actually having the news written by robots now?
"A teacher was able to get the player away from the Harold
The video game was a Sony PSP.
Police said the player overheated and exploded."
I mean it's ALL like that, FFS. Okay, I figure Oscar Wilde probably has better things to do than write for Click-On Detroit. Being dead. But still, damn...
posted by Naberius at 8:20 PM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
"A teacher was able to get the player away from the Harold
The video game was a Sony PSP.
Police said the player overheated and exploded."
I mean it's ALL like that, FFS. Okay, I figure Oscar Wilde probably has better things to do than write for Click-On Detroit. Being dead. But still, damn...
posted by Naberius at 8:20 PM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
There's a party in my pants and they're burning down the house.
posted by XMLicious at 9:13 PM on February 6, 2008
posted by XMLicious at 9:13 PM on February 6, 2008
4... 3... 2... 1...
i can't feel my spleen
my flesh is lime green
the pain is extreme
it makes me wanna scream
(skin graft please, skin graft please)
this acid burn is crazy
it totally dismays me
gotta call up 911
fo'sheezy
(skin graft please, skin graft please)
posted by Rhaomi at 10:05 PM on February 6, 2008
i can't feel my spleen
my flesh is lime green
the pain is extreme
it makes me wanna scream
(skin graft please, skin graft please)
this acid burn is crazy
it totally dismays me
gotta call up 911
fo'sheezy
(skin graft please, skin graft please)
posted by Rhaomi at 10:05 PM on February 6, 2008
This is copied verbatim from Gizmodo. Can we try a little harder with these FPPs?
posted by metaly at 12:53 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by metaly at 12:53 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Hey Buddy? You gotta PSP Lite?
posted by triv at 2:46 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by triv at 2:46 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
A teacher at the school managed to separate the boy from his gaming system.
Is this what I have to do to make my son stop playing his DS? Rig it somehow? Please send the link for the hack.
/end joke - my son got sick of his DS after the 2nd touchscreen lost calibrationability. Lesson: don't buy kids presents, and do lock them in a basement with nothing but books to read and spiders to chat with. And gruel once a day.
posted by not_on_display at 9:25 AM on February 7, 2008
Is this what I have to do to make my son stop playing his DS? Rig it somehow? Please send the link for the hack.
/end joke - my son got sick of his DS after the 2nd touchscreen lost calibrationability. Lesson: don't buy kids presents, and do lock them in a basement with nothing but books to read and spiders to chat with. And gruel once a day.
posted by not_on_display at 9:25 AM on February 7, 2008
From the second linked story: Ironically, the name of the game that was inside the player was called Burn Out.
Does anyone know what the name was?
posted by Crabby Appleton at 11:05 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Does anyone know what the name was?
posted by Crabby Appleton at 11:05 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
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posted by Shakeer at 5:07 PM on February 6, 2008