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Went to his head
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2011 Slush Pile

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Went to his head

2011 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

My step-dad used to work as a health-and-safety inspector of homes for a certain housing company. Naturally, he would hear of odd Darwinian experiences which his colleagues had to research, one in particular he felt compelled to share with the rest of his family over dinner. An electrician had been hired by a family living in one of the houses assigned to my step-dad's company, due to a faulty central heating system. Upon deciding to check the wires at the boiler, he cut through the plastic surrounding the bare wire, by cutting with pliers and then pulling off the insulation with his teeth. One can only wonder how an experienced electrician managed to make this mistake, but he failed to shut off the mains supply of 240 V before chomping down on live wire. Upon contact, his teeth were blown out from the sheer power, but that wasn't what killed him. The pair of pliers he had used to cut through the insulation were still in his hand, and the current had forced a powerful muscle contraction in his arm, ramming the pliers straight through his own skull.

Submitted on 04/15/2011

Submitted by: Ollie Moxham
Reference: Personal account, 1992

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
As one who has tinkered with all sorts of electronics for many years I've personally used my teeth numerous times as a makeshift wire stripper. but I have *never* done it on AC power lines, and if I did i would fist use a meter to test the cable to ensure it was shut off first. At the very least I'd use an insulated set of pliers to ground the cable first and see if it sparked. This guy may have been an experienced electrician, but he certainly wasn't all that intelligent... Thanks, Ollie!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Oh.My.Goodness. Thanks Ollie!

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