Breaking news: it gets hot in hot places in the summer.

Here's your conspiracy: these pictures are bullshit. The melted mailbox? Didn't have the 4x4 treated lumber post installed like the manufactured instructs. The recycling bin? An object lesson in "don't throw out hot coals from a grill". (It may have been melted by a reflection from a window, etc.) The oven mittens? You could wear those at any temperature.