When I was seventeen I had two hobbies, playing with fire and playing with electricity, not the safest of hobbies. Like a typical teenage boy, I enjoyed taking apart various electronic devices to see how they worked. One day I found an old radio sitting in the back of my closet, and in my infinite wisdom decided to take it apart to play with. The first piece that caught my eye was the power cord. So, I yanked out the power cord from the radio, still unplugged. To make sure that I hadn’t broken it, I plugged it into the wall. A power cord with bare wires showing, connected to nothing, and being held in my hand, was now plugged into the wall.

Now, it’s hard to tell if wires are live just by looking at them so I decided to touch them. This particular power cord had two different wires running from the plug down the cord and unbeknownst to me, you had to touch both of them to receive any current. So, thinking I might get a mild shock, might even hurt, I quickly brushed my hand across one of the wires to test for current...nothing.

Quickly I tried the other wire as well, again only brushing one of the wires...again nothing. Angry that I had apparently broken such a fun toy, I jammed both wires into the palm of my hand. Instantly my whole arm started shaking and vibrating. Surprised and rather startled, I yanked the wires away from my hand. I had enough time to wonder why people die from being electrocuted when all that happened to me was a little shaking and no pain, before my vision went black and I passed out.

I woke up a few minutes later glad that no one else had been around to see what I had done, and continued to play with my radio. During this same episode, while I didn’t hurt myself anymore, this time, I did blow all the circuit breakers in our house. It may also be worth mentioning that I graduated with a bachelors in chemistry and currently work as a chemist.

Submitted on 12/21/2006

Submitted by: Chris
Reference:

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

Graham said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Presumably you live in the US. Was this Europe, you may now well be receiving your Darwin Award! Voltage on the Continent is 220 volts (13 amps), sufficient to clamp your hand shut, ensuring your demise. Voltage is the US is a measly 110V, hence the 'tingle'. In Europe, it kicks you across the floor AFTER it badly burns you! Stick with the chemistry......

James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Good story, Chris! I learned all about the "tinglies" when I was about seven and stuck my finger in a Christmas light socket! As for plugging a bare cord and grabbing the wires? I thought that only happened in "Tom and Jerry" cartoons! Oh, yes...Graham is right. In Europe, that ol' wall socket packs twice the punch!

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Good story, Chris. Thanks.

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