Just got a call from my brother Matt while he was pumping gas. I told him to hang up and call me back when he was in the car -- it's not safe to talk on a cellphone while pumping gas, right?
So I decided to do the research, and sure enough, it seems to be an urban legend. Here's the U.S. Navy's take on it.
It seems to me that the Navy article actually says the opposite. There is a paragraph at the bottom that indicates that althoug it is unlikely that cell phones would cause such explosions, that it could happen:
"The bottom line, appears to be: It could be possible to initiate a fire while using a cellular telephone or through the discharge of static electricity while at the same time fueling one's vehicle. Is it likely to happen? Not if you follow the guidelines set out by the experts."
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