Two years ago
One set of lights on my parents' tree stopped working.
It is my job to decorate this tree, my own tree, my auntie's tree and the big fuck-off tree in reception at work. So, there was no way I was allowing the broken lights to be removed, ruining my hard work and causing me to have to redecorate.

So I suggested we just put the new lights over the top of the old ones, working around the baubles and shit, causing minimum disruption.
"I agree", says my mum, "but why don't we just snip off the old lights in sections, so they're not sitting there doing nothing?"
"Ok" says I, and off we go snip-snip here and snip-snip there until we have a nice pile of thin twisty snakes with spines of dead bulbs.
Sorted.

Until, that is, I go to plug in the new lights and realise the old ones were STILL PLUGGED IN!! She'd left the dead lights plugged in at the wall and switched on. I could not even speak to tell her what she'd done because I was white as a sheet, all clammy and shaky, and leaning on the sofa for support. I eventually just pointed, and she ran out of the back door, through the hole in the fence to my auntie's house shouting "Don't tell your dad!"

What a mental. She's always lawnmowing electrical cables too.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:08, 2 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Pffft!

(Bazongaloid, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:10, Reply)

Ahhhhh!
She nearly died! How she didn't get electrocuted I don't know!
(wehttamman via B3ta for microwave, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:14, Reply)

AND ME!!!
I was snip-snipping too! I would have been an innocent victim of her stupidity.
This is the woman who put her tongue on some hair-curling tongs to "see if they were hot enough yet".
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:15, Reply)

Plastic handled scissors?
Lucky bastard I've had 240v go through me before

It hurt
( Peej, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:20, Reply)

They WERE plastic-handled
But there was no sparking or anything on the metal bits, so we just assume the lights were very well idiot-proofed.
When my dad stuck his mains tester right into my living room lights, there were sparks everywhere, the plastic handle got all sooty and a bit of metal melted.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:22, Reply)

You are lucky but as they were plastic handled
and you had to cut through the shielding before you touched the metal the circuit was broken on the first cut so sparks were unlikely :)
( Peej, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:28, Reply)

I see
I love hearing technical things. I have no real desire to understand. I think I'd enjoy being read a TV manual.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:29, Reply)

Actually lauged out loud in the office then
Thank god no one was near enough to hear me
(wehttamman via B3ta for microwave, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:20, Reply)

Snort some coffee out of your nose as well next time
Or I'll consider myself a comedy failure
; )
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 14 Dec 2009, 14:23, Reply)