SEEKING CONFIRMATION.
(mid-1980s, Tennessee) A mile down the road from Middle Tennessee State
University, a couple of young, very drunk MTSU frat boys climbed a barbed
wire fence that was intended to keep lesser mortals out of an electric
substation. One frat boy climbed to the top of a transformer. That alone
was an obviously bad idea, but it got worse when he urinated on the
transformer on which he stood. As if electrocution via genitalia wasn't bad
enough, consider his motivation to pee: a wasp nest "target" attached to
the transformer. Needless to say, the wasps were the lesser of his
worries. He did not live long.
ORIGINAL SUBMISSION
Reader Comments:
Ben, Jesse, and numerous others
cite the MythBusters
episode 'debunking' the myth of peeing on the third rail.
We challenge MythBusters!
The large number of incident reports we have received over the years, as
well as conversations with reporters and medics, incline us to believe that
people do harm and kill themselves by urinating on electrified things, and
their episode is misleading.
Typical Shocking Experiences:
Jim: "One fact I know; if you scoop up a coffee can of water from a
stream next to an electric fence, then pour that water on the fence, you
will feel a decent shock from the can. As kids, we dared each other. Now,
the next logical dare was, who had the guts to pee on that fence? Nobody
ever did, but I am very confident that urine would be as conductive as the
water from that stream."
Donna: "We had been dog-sitting Herschel, an unruly Doberman. When
Chris came to pick up Herschel, he hooked the metal chain collar to the
metal chain leash (no handle, Herschel had eaten that) and headed outside.
Herschel realized it was going to be a long ride home and cocked his leg to
take a whiz--right on our electric fence! The electric charge ran up the
urine stream, through the metal collar, across the metal leash, and into
Chris. Herschel yelped, Chris swore, and both jumped back, breaking the
contact! My husband and I had a good laugh about it once Chris and Herschel
were gone. Without question, you can definitely get a charge out of peeing
on an electric fence!"
Jamie: "During officer training, the pain of digging full-depth trenches in
flinty soil was offset by the fun of sentry duty. During the night, the
thick fog was regularly punctuated by small blue flashes as returning
patrols blundered into an electric fence that a farmer had laid along our
main fence. Even better was watching people nip out for a pee against a
fence post. At some point the spray would hit the live wire, with the same
flash and yelp every time. The individuals must have been too embarrassed
to say anything, because it kept happening, and we certainly didn't choose
to enlighten anybody! As far as I'm aware, nobody suffered any lasting
damage, but I wasn't going to check. I'm sure my trench-mates will gladly
corroborate the story--and some of the others, probably less happily!"
Now a Random Factoid from Wendy: "I usually type a story title into
Google to get to that Darwin Awards page. But when I type, Tennessee Pee,
what comes up first and foremost is... I kid you not... LOCAL
BUSINESS RESULTS for pee in Tennessee! So I tried 'California pee' to
see if other states also use 'pee' as a keyword. Nope! That ocmes up with
'Gender Neutral Bathrooms' and 'Wikipedia on Asparagus' and other relevant
links. Only Tennessee features business results. Ha ha!"
DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2012
Submitted by: Roy Gregory Cannon
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Tennessee Pee
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