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John Irving Bentley

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Oddity

The Resume

    (April 15, 1874-December 5, 1966)
    Born in Ludlow, Vermont
    Retired physician
    Allegedly died from spontaneous human combustion (SHC) in Cloudsport, Pennsylvania
    Last seen alive at 9 PM on December 4 by friends wishing him goodnight
    Next morning at 9 AM, a meter reader noticed light blue smoke and a pile of ashes in the basement
    Investigating the rest of the house, he found Bentley's remains in a ground floor bathroom
    The only part of Bentley's body not reduced to ashes was his right leg below the knee
    His walker lay across a hole burned through the bathroom floor

Why he might be annoying:

    He was careless with his pipe, as shown by a bathrobe 'dotted with burn spots.'
    He frequently kept wooden matches in his pockets, which could have resulted in a small ember triggering a serious blaze.
    His pipe was found on its stand in the bedroom, undermining the theory that he set himself on fire while lighting or smoking his pipe.
    Despite the damage to the floor, the rubber tips on the legs of his walker were still intact.
    The perplexed coroner returned a verdict of 'death by asphyxiation and 90 percent burning of the body.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    The bedroom was smoky and charred bits of clothing were found in the hall leading to the bathroom, indicating that he caught on fire in the bedroom and went to the bathroom to extinguish the flames.
    A broken water pitcher in the toilet suggested that he collapsed before he was able to douse the flames.
    Skeptics of SHC argue that after he collapsed, his burning floors ignited the flammable linoleum of the bathroom floor.
    Cold air drawn up from the basement caused a chimney effect, producing a hot but localized flame.
    After Bentley's body and clothes had turned to ashes, the fire died out as linoleum does not burn long without an outside source of fuel.

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 18 Votes: 94.44% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying