At least 33 people - ranging from rookies to experienced electricians - have died from fractal wood burning since 2016, according to the American Association of Woodturners. People trying the craft often pick apart microwaves or car batteries to remove the power supply, which is then connected through jumper cables to nails attached to a piece of wood slathered with a conductive solution of baking soda and water. Yet the aesthetically pleasing look of veins spreading across a piece of wood can come at a high cost - and in dozens of cases have turned fatal. On TikTok, #fractalburning and similar hashtags have garnered millions of views. Hundreds of how-to videos exist on the Internet. The results have turned fractal wood burning into a social media phenomenon. The intricate designs - often seen in the scars of people who’ve been struck by lightning - resemble tree branches, lightning bolts or ferns. The process creates what is referred to as Lichtenberg figures, a pattern discovered in 1777 by German physicist Georg Lichtenberg while he conducted static electricity experiments. Fractal wood burning pairs high-voltage electricity and a chemical solution to etch intricate designs into slabs of wood. “Foul play has been ruled out and the deaths are found to be accidental in nature and believed to be caused by electrocution from fractal wood burning,” he said. ![]() Chief Deputy Chad Billeb confirmed the findings during a Thursday news conference. Then, pathologists conducting the couple’s autopsies proposed a theory that changed the course of the investigation: that Rodriguez and Carolfi had died after electrocution from fractal wood burning. Firefighters suspected foul play, and Marathon County sheriff’s deputies started looking for clues to solve what they thought was a homicide case. But once the blaze was extinguished, officers found two bodies in the garage - those of Tanya Rodriguez, 44, and James Carolfi, 52. ![]() The house in Marathon County, northwest of Green Bay, was badly burned, and its owners were nowhere to be found. Couple electrocuted to death making art hyped on TikTok, officials say When investigators responded to an April 6 fire at a Wisconsin home, they were immediately stumped.
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