can you get KILLED by headphone amps/ laptops?

[gryph0n]

Probably blocking the ventilation holes.

It's the heat generated.

Face-palm . I didn't think about the heat factor at all; I was thinking solely from perspective of battery chemistry.

But again, you'd hardly hear about such incidents in the old days where Ni-Cd used to be the common battery chemistry. Ni-Cd had issues with 'memory charge', but meltdowns seem to have been rare. There seems to have been an increase of these incidents after the battery chemistry has switched to Li-Ion.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

There have been major product recalls, and it all does seem to have been within the past few years.

Chemistry, yes, but chemistry leads to ... heat. And, if the ventilation is blocked, even normal chemistry might lead to abnormal heat and potential risk.