Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

"Spontaneously Combustible" has Ickis diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal disease of which little is known. As Ickis tries to come to terms with his illness, misunderstandings and rumors cause the students to fear Ickis and worry for their own safety, making him an outcast. When parents start arriving to withdraw their kids from school, Ickis runs away, causing everyone to realize their prejudice based on lies and exaggerations. In 1995, when this episode aired, the outbreak of transfusion-contracted HIV cases was causing public concern, while the first generation of children born HIV positive were beginning to reach the 5-10 year old age range, causing the first generation of HIV and AIDS infected students. This resulted in many cases of prejudice against children, including several well-documented cases in which steps were taken to ban HIV positive children from public schools. Many parents refused to allow their children to attend schools that had HIV positive students, and misunderstandings about AIDS led to rumors that you could contract it by playing, sharing food or school supplies, or even breathing the same air. In response to this mistreatment of HIV positive children many media outlets, including Nickelodeon, worked to squelch the rumors surrounding HIV. For more then a year Nick a commercial campaign explaining how AIDS could not be contracted through playing, hugging or kissing. In addition to this, "NickNews"did a special on the history and nature of HIV and AIDS, with an emphasis on compassion and understanding for those infected. "Spontaneously Combustible" appears to be another example of AIDS awareness messaging in which spontaneous combustion is substituted for the new and frightening illness.