Posted on 02/09/2014 3:43:29 PM PST by BenLurkin
Most are killed by low voltage because thee are most accessible. 220 single phase is standard home power feed. The lines TO the stepdown transformers are 7kV in older neighborhoods where one transformer serves several homes. The lines FROM transformer to house are 220 V .
People have been killed by lesser voltages. It depends on what path the current travels.
House feeds are 240 volts, but they are completely safe. The insulation on the wires is so tough you could drag it down the road. You would have to break the insulation on both wires to have any danger. One wire won’t give even a faint sensation by itself.
It gets very competetive. And addicting.
Not that I have every done anything bizarre to get just the right shot.
That is just not true.
Hundreds of thousands if not millions of homes receive power through older lines that will kill you in an instant .The newer triplex lines are insulated as they must be since the three lines are wrapped together in a tight spiral.The old lines that are air spaced and run to three seperate ceramic insulators have a coating designed to stop wire corrosion not necessarily protect against accidental contact.
FWIW.I have experience repairing and replacing old wiring on farm and home as well as modern business wiring to 408/480.
You only need a current path from ONE energized line through your body to ground.Since the convention was to install the neutral line highest as a part of lightning protection chances are good the first wire touched would be “hot”.
I agree with Builder on the prayers part. Not sure of the Darwin, though:
...excerpted:
So how are the Darwin Awards actually determined?
Nominees significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an obviously stupid way. They are self-selected examples of the dangers inherent in a lack of common sense, and all human races, cultures, and socioeconomic groups are eligible to compete. Actual winners must meet the following criteria:
Reproduction
Out of the gene pool: dead or sterile.
Excellence
Astounding misapplication of judgment.
Self-Selection
Cause one’s own demise.
Maturity
Capable of sound judgment.
Veracity
The event must be true.
Not a Darwin (but not safe either)
* Whizzing on an electric wire
* Smoking in an oxygen tent
* Being hit by a train or automobile
* Aerosol cans, etc., in the oven
* Climbing into zoo cages
* Falling off precipice while posing or pissing
* Carbon monoxide poisoning
* Most autoerotic deaths
* all too common! /end excerpt
This may not have been obvious to him, as it was near-dusk. It does kinda rate right up there with texting into a manhole. Or the recent guy posing on RR tracks for a pic. Assuming he grew up in that house, living with parents, he had seen that line before. I don’t think the humor here is meant as ridicule. David Strohm is way past that having any effect. He has hopefully passed into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior. I think its battlefield stress relief.
So, how does blowing up yourself and your entire terrorist class with your demonstration how-to-blow-up-innocent-bystanders-with-a-terrorist bomb fit in the Darwin criteria?
I, concur.
Sadly, exempt according to the website, because it caused the deaths of others, while accomplishing the net effect. BUT - Attending a suicide-bombing class where your instructor blows himself up would likely qualify, with 21 (likely heir-less) possible candidates.
Alas, Kamikaze is a dying art...
I nominated the trainees.
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