The police found the bodies of Tanya Rodriguez (44) and James Carolfi (52) from Marathon County, Wisconsin, in their garage after officers responded to a fire at the exact location. The authorities ruled out foul play and confirmed that the couple had died from electrocution before the fire started. The couple’s deaths and the fire were caused by their attempt to perform a fractal wood burning.
Fractal Wood Burning Is a Highly Controversial Wood Decorating Technique
Fractal or “lichtenburg” wood burning is a technique in which woodworkers use high-voltage electrical current to burn lightning patterns into chemically-treated wood. Woodworkers sometimes use this technique to decorate various wooden items, and the videos about it have become very popular, gathering hundreds of millions of views on TikTok. Even though it is popular on social networks the experts consider it dangerous and are highly against it. It has caused 33 confirmed deaths since 2017.
Why Is Fractal Wood Burning So Popular Despite the Dangers?
The patterns like these can hardly be achieved using power tools, so it is tempting for people to try this. The materials are easily obtainable. For instance, people often use high-voltage transformers from microwaves.
