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CD material toxicity when burned?

EvilBiker

Spectral Challenger
EvilBiker
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Messages
1,653
Location
Berlin
I got this little titbit in a circular on criminal methods of house access:
The best part is this - The very latest trend is to place a burning CD in an open window of a home. The toxic fumes serve to drug the inhabitants. The effects are very deep sleep to awaken a few hours later, feeling very drowsy. Whilst asleep, the criminals have free access and reign to everything in your home. The terrifying part is that you cannot even protect yourself. You simply go to sleep
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I have a problem with this for a couple of reasons (off the top of my head with no real thought yet...):

1. The effects seem more akin to taking a sleeping pill. I don't see one burning CD giving off enough fumes to allow this to happen to one person, let alone a whole household.

2. Fire alarm would be triggered.

3. A burning CD in an open window is pretty visible.

Anybody else heard of this? I'll do some digging around the actual CD material this weekend - would appreciate some input.
 
ail said:
Can you provide the exact source of this quote ?

It sounds like something you got via email as an eRumor

Check out the following link. It will help you decide whether this is hogwash.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/signs.htm
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Unfortunately, I cannot provide an exact source - it was sent around as a company email, the comment apparently originates from a security company out here. Here's the complete report, FYI:
CRIME NEWS UPDATE

Palisade fencing - A normal car jack is being used to open and thus separate the vertical bars on palisade fencing thus allowing criminals to walk through fencing and remove objects or prepare cars for hijacking.

Electric fencing - It's simple. Take a length of wood with two nails attached, push it through two wires, and voila, the current is re-directed causing no harm to the criminal but does in fact damage and disable your electric fence which inevitably still costs you in repairs. Another method of deactivation is by jumper cables. Simply redirect current and the result is - No alarm. Sadly in so many instances where people have electric fencing, they don't even activate the fences.

The criminals know this.

To disable a motorized gate - simply pour petrol over it and set alight. This allows for the gate to be moved open without too much difficulty and don't be surprised at how easily your car was removed.

The best part is this - The very latest trend is to place a burning CD in an open window of a home. The toxic fumes serve to drug the inhabitants. The effects are very deep sleep to awaken a few hours later, feeling very drowsy. Whilst asleep, the criminals have free access and reign to everything in your home. The terrifying part is that you cannot even protect yourself. You simply go to sleep

It is important that we know how these crimes are committed. Remember crime is very big business in South Africa . Forewarned is forearmed.
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Thanks for the link - will check it out. Frankly, this has screamed "hogwash" at me since it arrived. It's the first time I see it, and I want to verify and/or squash it before it enters the realms of ForwardSpam.
 
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CDs are polycarbonate plastic, some aluminum and a lacquer. If you were inhaling the fumes in, say, a closet, you might get a bit drowsy but the amount that the fumes are diluted over an average house makes it very unlikely that it knocks all the residents out for "hours" especially considering that there isn't that much raw material in a single CD, and going through the trouble of burning a bunch would be very conspicuous. And CD materials aren't all that uncommon, so it's hard to see what's special about them that they're this miracle sleeping drug.
 
murphyr said:
CDs are polycarbonate plastic, some aluminum and a lacquer. If you were inhaling the fumes in, say, a closet, you might get a bit drowsy but the amount that the fumes are diluted over an average house makes it very unlikely that it knocks all the residents out for "hours" especially considering that there isn't that much raw material in a single CD, and going through the trouble of burning a bunch would be very conspicuous. And CD materials aren't all that uncommon, so it's hard to see what's special about them that they're this miracle sleeping drug.
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Natch. My original point exactly, thanks. Mind if I snag your post for a reply to my mail author? You've basically nailed it in better words than mine.
 
I put a CD in a microwave once. It let off a horrible smell of burning plastic. I felt no drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, or anything like that, but the room reeked for a few hours. It was really hard to miss the odor.
 
Ziggurat said:
I put a CD in a microwave once. It let off a horrible smell of burning plastic. I felt no drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, or anything like that, but the room reeked for a few hours. It was really hard to miss the odor.
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Yeah, but it was TOTALLY COOL, wasn't it? I love doing that. :D
 
Actually it's all those embedded 1's and 0's. The fire releases them from captivity and once they get into the air they can be inhaled. The 0's, being round, are not a problem. The 1's, once they enter your bloodstream can get hooked on the little imperfections in your blood vessels. If this occurs in your brain it may take hours before the log jam is released and you will just spend this time unconcious. Beware the 1's!
 
EvilBiker said:
Natch. My original point exactly, thanks. Mind if I snag your post for a reply to my mail author? You've basically nailed it in better words than mine.
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Sure.

Buckaroo said:
Yeah, but it was TOTALLY COOL, wasn't it? I love doing that. :D
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Now you're on to something. Merely place a CD in a microwave in front of your victims, hit start and rob them blind while they're captivated by how awesome it is.
 
Ooo, I hope criminals latch on to this. It'd make it much easier to defend the home. Smell burning CDs? Go get the shotgun... :D
 
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