I had been working a long shift as overtime.....
...my brain was dull and it was nearing the end of the shift so I was thinking of getting home, showering and going to bed. Then one of the machines ground to a halt, some kind of electric motor failure or something. I called the maintenance crew who duly turned up, sucked air through their teeth, made non-committal 'Hmmmmm' noises and decided they'd have to strip it down.
I left them to it and finished my shift.
As I was leaving, I passed through the machine floor to see how they were getting on when I noticed the power switch wasn't locked off. This was achieved by putting a padlock through the handle so it couldn't be turned on by mistake. 'Hey guys, you haven't locked the power switch off!' I yelled as I reached out and turned it just to prove a point........
I turned it on. I reached out and unleashed 415 volts of direct current straight through the hands of the maintenance guy who was fixing the motor.

He got away with a quick air trip to other side of the gangway and shit himself a little, but I just stood there for about 10 minutes repeating the mantra over and over....
'What the fuck was I thinking? I could've killed him!'

Still, makes for a great anecdote when the chance presents itself.
( NooShmoo It's a fantazmagorical pile of ultra bollocks, Mon 27 Sep 2010, 23:31, 7 replies)

Always nice to give a little oh&s reminder to those who need it. Shoulda had you on a management team with that little gem.
(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 6:18, closed)

Which is exactly why
the dumbfucks shoulda locked it out.
(M61A1 CUPID- STUNTS, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 8:03, closed)

direct current?

(Deligrams, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 8:55, closed)

quite.
DC would have killed him instantly.
And the poor fuckers who tried to rescue him before the power was shut off.
At least with AC you don't get welded to the cables and are more likely to sustain damage from landing some fifty odd feet away.
(f_rev, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 9:49, closed)

I got 240V across the heart once
...accidentally completed a circuit with my hands, so the shock went across my chest. Threw me clear across the room, and I was vibrating at 50Hz for ages afterwards.

Didn't get any super-powers, either. What a chiz!
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 10:28, closed)

What kind of super power?
getting zapped with electricity, would it give you microwave abilities to cook food faster or tune in a radio really well?
(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 10:30, closed)

I kind of imagined beams of sparks from the fingertips
and maybe glowing blue eyes.

Mind you, I'd look hideous in a leotard, so perhaps the world got off lightly there...
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Tue 28 Sep 2010, 11:25, closed)