Today, I electrocuted myself.

[dragon_wings]

The one time I was jolted I was trying to plug something in in the dark (probably my phone charger). I was using my hand/fingers to find the plug and my finger tip went in just the wrong spot. It was just a small jolt but it was shocking enough.

[Buglady]

So for a long time I have had the notion that I am better than everyone around me. I try not to let on to this fact, but I think about it a lot.

LMAO, the Universe has a tendency to shoot us down when we start thinking like that Also, never pray for patience, because you'll suddenly get a lot more opportunities for *practice* on that one!

Your story made me laugh a lot, thanks

[Jay 2K Winger]

I shocked myself once when I was going to ITT Tech.

I was in our "mega lab" computer lab, making use of the power strips there to recharge my laptop while I was working on my homework. Come the finish, I lean over to unplug the laptop's power cord, and as it's wiggling loose (it was in there tight), I slide my fingers underneath it (the prongs are still in the socket) and start to pull, heedless of the fact that my fingers are touching the metal of the prongs.

I feel heat and a sudden vibration and numbness in my fingers. I quickly realize "oh shit, I shocked myself," snatch my fingers away, and unplug the cord by grasping the plug properly (without touching metal) and consider myself lucky I didn't more seriously injure myself.

[Seshat]

I figured I was safe with the mains off, but believe that you can never be too safe.

Unless you know for certain that the device you're working with has no high-capacity capacitors, then yes, it's best to assume it has the potential to shock you.

(Capacitors are - well, to oversimplify, they're sort of like batteries. They hold charge, anyway, and they can release it very quickly if given something to release it into. Like a person.)



Notlovinit: I have a challenge for you.
Tell your instructor that you've not done this sort of manual work before, and would appreciate some additional guidance or tutoring at some point.
Then humbly and graciously accept that tutoring, and learn from it.

[notlovinit]

Notlovinit: I have a challenge for you.
Tell your instructor that you've not done this sort of manual work before, and would appreciate some additional guidance or tutoring at some point.
Then humbly and graciously accept that tutoring, and learn from it.

I won't be able to see that particular instructor again, but we are supposed to have some sort of on the job training before we actually go out. And believe me, I am not going out there alone until I know what I am doing. Like I said, this is my first experience with tools and I don't want to mess up someone's house. They told us all these horror stories of things techs have done and I could easily picture myself doing any of those things right now for the fact that I have no idea about any of this stuff. But this is not something I am willing to go out there and do without a good amount of training first. Regardless of whether I had shocked myself or not at this training, I wouldn't be willing to go into people's homes and just mess around with stuff and drill randomly. I'm not conceited enough to think I'm that amazing.

[Gizmo]

meh..

Whatever you do.. don't reach up into a ceiling of a Spanish Bodega and grab wires... some of them have live AC..

I know..

One of hubbys jobs took him to an install in a foreign country. They were working in a completely metal room and were stripping back wires etc to install the equipment. All the electric to that sector had been turned off.

One day one of the guys is dragging some cording across the metal floor and could see sparks from it. A quick investigation later and they all get issued with volt-pens to check everywhere they walk, touch and move anything.

It turned out that sometime in the past someone had bypassed that sectors electric circuits and a live wire was touching and making a circuit with the floor and walls of the room. So they'd all been working in a room where practically every surface was live. Luckily no one got hurt - Everyone had been following safety procedures about shoes, equipment and the like.

[Luna Baby]

At least this time my whole arm did not hurt, just my finger. I have GOT to remember to wear rubber gloves while shopping!!!

This reminded me. Our town got a new "Super Wally World" about 5 years ago. This one didn't have the standard VC tile on the floor. This particular store had what appeared to be a dark red concrete, poured in gian 4 x 8 foot sections. For about a year, I'd go shopping and all through the store, I'd continue to get shocked in my hands no matter what time of the year it was or what I was doing. It dawned on me one day when I paid closer attention that it was coming through the carts. I finally spoke to a MOD and explained that something had to be done. I was a relatively healthy person, but what about the babies sitting in the carts and the older folks with pacemakers, etc......? It was only after I had this same discussion multiple times, that I noticed that they attached 2 pieces to the bottom fronts of all the carts. One is a black rubber strip and the other is a short piece of chain. Both have to touch the floor. Apparently, it has some grounding effect. My kids laugh at me when I go to grab a cart now and I'm standing on my head trying to see how far back in the row of carts I'm having to dig to get one with both attachments! If one or the other is missing, you are sure to have one heck of a shocking experience shopping that trip!

[Merriweather]

I do not know if it is the boots or my cold weather gear, but I get zapped every time I go shopping.

Well, if you figure out what it is, please let me know, cause I'm the same way. Some times are worse than others, and I don't wear boots or heavy winter gear, usually just plain shoes, jeans & a shirt. There have been times when after taking a few items off the shelves and getting shocked every time, I just point & let hubby put things into the trolly. Grocery stores are the worst, but not the only place. I recently got new slippers, and when I wear them, I get shocked by one of our light switches (never when I don't wear them, though).

As for major shocks, hubby has me beat on that one. I wanted something up on the wall in the kitchen once, and at the time the only drill we had was a big heavy one, which is too heavy for my small hands to hold steady, so all drilling went to hubby til we got a lighter one. Anyway, he checked for all switches & outlets, then figured out where wires should be running, based on standard American practices. However, we were living in Wales at the time , and he found out the hard way that things are done differently in the UK. Knocked him off the stepstool he was on, but didn't quite lose consciousness. He was lucky, cause of course, not only is UK wiring done differently from the US, it's also packs twice the punch.

[Kristev]

Maybe rubber gloves should be mandatory?

[TheCheerfulTreeRat]

Maybe rubber gloves should be mandatory?

The first time I was doing electrical work on a ship I sat looking glumly at some sparking cables.
"I thought the power was off in this section?"
"Yep, the ETO said it was"
"You might want to get hold of him and see if he's sure enough to lick these cables"
<pulls on plastic gloves followed by leather ones>

[taurinejunkie]

I got shocked pretty badly (I think) the time I tried to unplug my video camera from the wall, my hand slipped and I grabbed the metal prongs while trying to grab the plug again. As I remember, my hand was twitching occasionally for a few hours afterwards.

[Pagan]

I do not know if it is the boots or my cold weather gear, but I get zapped every time I go shopping.

Well, if you figure out what it is, please let me know, cause I'm the same way. Some times are worse than others, and I don't wear boots or heavy winter gear, usually just plain shoes, jeans & a shirt.

I have the same problem, but it's at Sam's. Doesn't matter what I'm wearing or what time of year it is and it doesn't happen all the time. When it does, I just make damn sure I keep my hands firmly on the plastic part of the cart handle!

[Andara Bledin]

When it does, I just make damn sure I keep my hands firmly on the plastic part of the cart handle!

I keep a pair of very thin gloves in my coat pocket that I'll pull on at times like this.

Actually, most of the time, the boyfriend steers the cart. He almost never gets zapped, so it's safer for everybody.

^-.-^

[raudf]

I have the same problem, but it's at Sam's. Doesn't matter what I'm wearing or what time of year it is and it doesn't happen all the time. When it does, I just make damn sure I keep my hands firmly on the plastic part of the cart handle!

Sam's buggies have the same problem as Walmart's. What was explained to me was that it was something about the way the wheels run the floor. It builds up a charge and *zark*

When the walmart I worked at became a supercenter, the buggies weren't just doing little zarks. The jolts were strong enough that it caused several of our pacemakered oldsters to panic. The stock associates refused to haul more than 5 at a time into the store for ANY reason. Next thing I knew, the buggies were sporting the little wires.

I admit it does wonders for people's budgets, however. You go to reach for that impulse buy and *zark!* My child used to grab things off the shelf until I accidentally got a hold of a wireless buggy. Every time that little hand would slip towards the shelf *zap* and down went the hand. Only once with that buggy and he never again tried that trick.

Now we walk through the store and try to zark each other. So if you see a mother and son tapping each other and giggling.. well, that'd likely be us.

[Pagan]

Sam's buggies have the same problem as Walmart's. What was explained to me was that it was something about the way the wheels run the floor. It builds up a charge and *zark*

But that's the weird thing. The only place I've ever had that problem is Sam's. And not all the time. Was just in there earlier this week, no problem. I used to think it had to do with how dry we get, but there were a couple of times this past summer when we were at (I swear) negative humidity, not one zap.

Never had that problem in Wal-Mart. Maybe something to do with the floors? Linoleum at Wal-Mart, concrete at Sam's.