The MythBusters on Discovery channel tested this. The myth was, as they say, busted.

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Whenever I text "Barack," my phone suggests the word "Capable." I guess my my phone IS pretty smart.

Then the signs they have posted in gas stations warning against cell phone use must be a libility issue.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Yep. The lawyers couldn't wait for the Myth Busters episode to air.

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Wake up every day that would be a start.

Yeah in your honor I talked on my cell the whole time I was pumping gas yesterday

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I also saw the Mythbusters episode when they 'busted' this story. Now, I wonder if they could test the static story. I've gotten in and out of the car on several ocasions while pumping gas (usually if it's cold, rainy, to answer a call on my phone which I leave in the car...) and nothing has happened. The static thing is something to think about and I guess I'll minimize how often I do this. But I'd like to know if this is really an issue or not.

I would hate to be the one who test this theory when all the conditions are right for making this happen.

The reality is nothing is impossible. For example,

A Handful of Dust Can Destroy Your Facility
A perfect “recipe” for a mill disaster could be this: start with a building with thin, barely visible layers of combustible dust. Add unvented equipment that draws in suspended dust. Let a few airborne particles stray and find a spark. Add the spark to the dust and you’ve set your recipe ablaze! The first explosion ruptures the equipment, releasing building dust into the air; a second explosion deflects the building walls and roof. Deflection could partly collapse the building and break sprinkler piping. And as soon as the sprinkler protection is disabled, your fire is out of control.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Static is an issue. Airplanes have long used grounding straps before any fuel moves. I drove a tandem fuel delivery truck back during university days (gasoline, diesel, home heating oil, etc) and you didn't open a tank at the bulk plant before attaching the grounding strap. It is easy to manage the risk on your own vehicle if you want to, you just discharge the electricity before you open the tank and start filling. You have to ask yourself what the risk is though, ie if it is cold and rainy, how much static do you think you can build up? If you slide across fuzzy seat covers and always get a spark afterwards, then that is the other extreme.

I think there may be more important things to stay awake at night worrying about. Just my $0.02

Jeff

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Retired:
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That is 100% correct I saw it also.

Dont know if I would trust the mythbusters with my life. They seem a little less than scientific IMO.