Work made us do training about the dangers of electricity
by showing a succession of slides displaying photos of the blackened finger stumps, carbonised limbs, cooked flesh and pitted eyeballs of people who had suffered electrocutions, as a warning about how dangerous electricity is- except they were talking about people working in 33,000 volt electricity substations, not our 200-300V setup.

They also did a 'how much electrical current do you think it would take to give you cardiac arrest?' quiz. Turns out is is surprisingly low but it was pretty much like a daily mail article- backed up by mathematics (Ohm's law) that had unreal figures to begin with, e.g. assuming that a human body only has an electrical resistance of 1kiloOhm between one hand and the other hand.

I know the idea is to make people think about safety and not be cavalier in their attitude to electricity but I've had plenty of shocks in my time from mains so I'm either non-conductive or they're going all-out crazy to make you think that you will explode in a hail of bloody meat shrapnel if you test a 9V battery's charge by touching the terminals to your tongue.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 5 Sep 2013, 19:22, 11 replies)

I like the noise people inevitably make the first time they have a decent shock.
Like Scooby Doo when he sees a ghost.

ABWOOOHOOOOWOOOOOoooo!
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 19:27, closed)

AC is a bitch for tickling your diaphragm.
fortunately I forgot to wear my copper shoes with the earth stud affixed to the nearest water pipe when I had that particular muscle oscillatory pulse going on.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 5 Sep 2013, 20:00, closed)

I did a little lol at the last sentence

( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 19:29, closed)

The danger isn't getting your hand zapped
it's having the current pass through your chest. If your hand is in the middle of a massive arc it will get fried, but you'll probably survive. If it goes in one hand and out the other, you're toast.

Just don't whiz on the electric fence.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 5 Sep 2013, 20:32, closed)

I've read a horrendous story of a copper thief robbing substations, getting electrocuted, and then going home while still burning from the inside.
Bloke's skin was peeling off his face as he walked in through the front door. Brrr.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 21:35, closed)

In that instance he was grounded
through his feet, and I would guess that the electricity went along his skin more than through him or his nervous system would have been fried and his heart stopped. Probably fatal anyway.

Sounds like a good Darwin award.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 5 Sep 2013, 21:55, closed)

Oh yes, he made it to hospital and lived a couple of days though.
A horrible death. Happened a few years ago Oop North.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 20:30, closed)

I knew a fellow who was startled to discover he had stopped breathing
He was all alone too. So he methodically went about the business of teaching himself how to breathe again, and fortunately he was a quick learner.
(Perv With A Dog had his eyes pecked out by scrub jays on, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 20:59, closed)

b3ta.com/questions/bodger/post1116724/
( real i'm not happy 'til you're not happy, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 8:24, closed)

It's not the volts that kills you it's the amps
- specifically only about 0.08Amps across the heart will stop it.
( buffet_the_appetite_slayer ٩(●̮̃•)۶ jacked in to the ICE on, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 10:52, closed)

0.08 A, but at what voltage

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 8 Sep 2013, 19:16, closed)

50 volt DC
from phone/alarm systems hurts like a bastard.
( social hand grenade I was a lurker before you were a lurker, Sat 7 Sep 2013, 19:25, closed)