One day, I was working on the ships Garbage Pulper (a giant garbage disposal that uses the sea water to wash it out, and runs on a 440 volt transformer, as well as pressurized air). My garbage room partner and I were having difficulties turning the machine on, and as I was in Naval Intelligence and he was a Boatswains Mate, neither of us had any technical knowledge that could help us in this situation. Never the less, we decided that we could figure out what was wrong with the system. I, being a VERY observant individual, saw a label that said "Power" over a hole with a plastic piece inside of it. It looked like a button had fallen or been pulled out. I asked my friend to hand me a screwdriver so I could press the button. After a loud CRACK and a shower of sparks, I discovered that it had NOT in fact, been a button. It was a light socket. My actions shorted out the entire 440 volt transformer, and blew a large fuse. I was soon being laughed at by the entire electrical department and was banned from touching tools for the next 3 months.

Submitted on 04/05/2011

Submitted by: Adam
Reference: Personal Account June 2008

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
It's a good thing you used a screwdriver with an insulated handle and not just a piece of scrap metal or, god forbid, your finger. Of course if you had really wanted to achieve a full DA then you probably should have gone one of those routes. Thanks for an amusing story, Adam!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Only three months? Thanks, Adam!

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