Humans Can Burn Like Candles

When clothing soaks up melted body fat, a human body can act like a candle wick to fuel a slow-burning fire. This process explains cases once mistaken for spontaneous human combustion.

The wick effect allows a body to be destroyed by fire even without extreme surrounding heat. Because the clothing absorbs the liquefied fat, the fire stays localized and burns at a steady, controlled rate for many hours. This phenomenon suggests that many mysterious body-incineration cases are actually grounded in basic physics rather than the paranormal. Forensic investigators now use this concept to understand how bodies can sustain combustion in unusual conditions.