TECH QUESTION: "If a popcorn kernel trapped between the cpu fan and the processor pops....

[from Debra Maples]

what damage could it have caused? I don't know how it got there."

This thought-provoking question was sent to my online computer expert, Leo Notenboom at Ask Leo, and he passed it on in his weekly e-mail letter. I couldn't resist passing it along here.

TECH ANSWER: (from Leo) "What's funny is that this could happen, and the kernel could absolutely pop at some point - things do get hot inside your computer.

It could:

**do nothing;
**pop the CPU fan off and lead to overheating;
**shift to some other spot such that when it pops it actually dislocates some other piece of hardware; OR
**even catch on fire after it pops.

Remove the kernel, and take steps to avoid the problem in the future."

I thought that this was some sound advice we all should follow should we ever get a popcorn kernel trapped between our cpu fan and processor! Any other thoughts or similar-type issues?

[from Debra Maples]

I hadn't thought about pet hair. Have you found any inside your computer? It does make sense that pet hair might get sucked up into the computer.

[Diana Sasseen]

Pet hair is a bigger concern for me. Geeeeez, it gets into every nook and cranny in the house. Love my dogs, just wish they wouldn't shed. Perhaps I could train them to vaccuum.

[from Debra Maples]

I Know!! My thoughts exactly! I'm thinking as more people read this blog post we might come up with some interesting stories here too....

In any event, Leo says that this is just one of the unusual "Tech" questions he gets and has included it in his annual roundup of unusual questions for 2009.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Haha, first thing i thought was it would pop and catch on fire.
however, how a kernel can get in there would baffle me.

Monti