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(2003, California) John, a Los Angeles real estate attorney, was skimming
leaves from his pool when he noticed a palm frond caught in the power
lines. His education had equipped him with sufficient acumen to become a
successful litigator. Yet he was not shrewd enough to avoid becoming a
toasty critter, when he reached up with the long metal pole and poked at
the palm frond. Did I mention the power lines?
John was, for once, the path of least resistance.
Perhaps as an homage to his litigation skills, his family sued both the
utility company and the pool supply store, for failure to disclose the
danger of poking a metal rod into the power lines.
From Randy Cassingham's True Stella Awards.
Reader Comments:
"A true frond."
"Power lien strikes again!"
In a related
near miss:
(6 March 2008, Georgia) Childish adults were throwing Mardi Gras beads
around the backyard. As luck would have it, some strands ended up wrapped
around the power lines. The group tried to rescue them by throwing sticks,
footballs, and sundry items, but the beads kept mocking them. One man, an
EMT, figured that since aluminum doesn't conduct electricity, he could use
the pool skimmer to flip the beads off the power line.
The pole hit the line and 7200 volts of electricity made an arc to the
conductor on the ground, sending him flying. The last words out of his
mouth before his moment of illumination? "This is pretty stupid standing
under a power line with a pole in my hands."
2nd and 3rd degree burns were treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at
Doctor's Hospital in Augusta. After a month of therapy (physical, not
mental) the EMT returned to work. (UNCONFIRMED: References sought!)
DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2012
Submitted by: Randy Cunningham
Reference: Los Angeles Times, http://www.freerepublic.com
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