This story sounds.... untrue. While it's certainly plausible to have 40,000 volts of static electricity, the amount of <i>energy</i> involved is extremely small. Way too small to burn holes in a carpet. (Also, it's from 2005.)<p>Edit: "Several unanswered objections mark the story as a possible hoax" <a href="http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignites_carpet,_plastic_with_static_electricity" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Australian_man_allegedly_ignites...</a>