Ever gotten a shock from mains electricity?

[Jorpho]

I was poking around inside some old stereo equipment today and was rather alarmed at how exposed the contacts were for the incoming, non-grounded electrical current.

It got me wondering: has anyone here ever been exposed to a shock from electrical current straight out of an outlet? How did it happen? Were you burned? Did it put your life in danger?

[pseudoidiot]

I've been shocked by 120VAC out of an outlet once -- was trying to jimmy a plug out of the outlet with one hand and managed to make contact with both plugs. Was pretty quick and almost over before I realized what happened.

I've been shocked by 125VDC a few times -- I work with a lot of power utility systems and that's a really common voltage. Accidents happen.

[Hofstadter'sLaw]

I've been shocked by 120VAC out of an outlet once -- was trying to jimmy a plug out of the outlet with one hand and managed to make contact with both plugs. Was pretty quick and almost over before I realized what happened.

Ditto. It's happened to me two or three times. Just felt a quick shock and jerked my hand away. No burns or anything that I can remember.

[semicharmed]

Once, as a kid. Carefully pulled a nightlight out of the wall, and put my thumb on one plug and my index finger on the other. My hand tingled the rest of the night, and I didn't repeat that experiment.

But a lot of my mom's extended family are/were master electricians and a lot of the older ones will still test live sockets with the thumb+index finger of their right arm. Drives my mother crazy.

[Black Dynamite]

I've not been shocked by an outlet, but there is an unprotected light switch in my hallway that has shocked me. I was fumbling around in the dark and touched something that sent a shock through my hand and made it tingle for awhile. My mom couldn't stop laughing after I jumped back into the wall behind me.

[Zamfir]

I got a few shocks from the local 230V, but only when messing around in ways that were perhaps not optimal, safety-wise. I am under the impression that European appliances and outlets are somewhat better isolated than in the US, to compensate for the more dangerous 230V.

[Magnanimous]

Once while unplugging something when I was really young, once when I was hooking up an extension cord in heavy rain. (I am not a smart man.)

[JBJ]

I was told that when I was a baby I got my wet sticky hands into a fuse box (old fashioned fuses, not a breaker). I don't know how much current I took, but apparently it was enough to toss me back about 6 feet and blow half a dozen fuses. I've taken 120V AC a few times since in my adult life. It hurts, but I've never been burned and I never got that tingly after effect. Then again, I might have some natural resistance. Those physical therapy devices with the electrodes to stimulate muscle movement? I recall when we played with those at some high-school health fair years ago I could overcome it even on the highest setting while my friends had their hands curl up. Still, I try not to take chances and am usually very good about making sure that the breakers or at least the switch is off.

Safety-tip: when working with wiring bare-handed, even if you are reasonably certain the power is off, always test the wire with the back of your hand first before you ever grab a wire. If it is live and you grab it with your hand, it could cause a muscle contraction not allowing you to release it. With the back of your hand, the reflexive jerk if it is live will break contact often before any damage is done.

[wellingtonsteve]

120V Pftt. Try the 240V we have over here!

The lighting in the loft area in our roof isn't connected directly to the mains - we don't go up there regularly enough for it to be worth it. We have a cable with a plug on each that we run between sockets in the loft space and downstairs. Needless to say I've managed to plug in one end to the powered socket and absent-mindedly pick up the other end to connect it in the loft...

I soon learned this was a really stupid idea.

[The Geoff]

I've had a couple of 240v shocks (including, believe it or not, whilst "in bed with a lady", long story.)

240v will leave a tiny waxy burn at the point of contact and the muscle contractions cause a bit of a lingering ache, but it doesn't "hurt" so much as just feel really weird. The muscle contractions can throw you back a few feet as well. It is possible for 240v to cause heart arrhythmia, but it's relatively rare.

[Роберт]

The danger is if it goes through your heart, essentially. That's why people working on hardware stuff where there's a chance of getting shocked are wearing thick soled shoes and have one hand in their pocket. If the electricity has a path in one limb and out another, you could literally die. In fact, it's kind of at the most deadly level, since it will screw up your heart in a way that makes it malfunction, rather than reboot. A bigger shock can be "safer" because it basically causes your heart to reset.

But if there's no way out except the limb it came in, it won't go through your heart, so it's (relatively) safe.

[ArgonV]

I've had a couple of 240v shocks (including, believe it or not, whilst "in bed with a lady", long story.)

240v will leave a tiny waxy burn at the point of contact and the muscle contractions cause a bit of a lingering ache, but it doesn't "hurt" so much as just feel really weird. The muscle contractions can throw you back a few feet as well. It is possible for 240v to cause heart arrhythmia, but it's relatively rare.

Voltage doesn't really factor into arrythmia. At least that's what I was always taught. Amperes are what stops your heart, not volts. 10.000 Volts can be relatively harmless, as long as it's no more than 65 mA. 65 mA over the heart can be deadly.

[wellingtonsteve]

240v will leave a tiny waxy burn at the point of contact and the muscle contractions cause a bit of a lingering ache, but it doesn't "hurt" so much as just feel really weird.

Yeah pretty much this.

[Zamfir]

Voltage does determine how much current there will be. Harmless 10,000 volt sources cannot actually maintain that voltage across your body, while a mains socket can maintain a 240V drop, with the accompanying current.

[flintlockpistols]

I've never been shocked, but my dad seems to have this happen to him constantly. He has pretty severe epilepsy because back when he was in college, he was working on a fuse box for a friend and somehow broke something and according to my mom, she saw a bolt of electricity go out the back of his head. He's also had minor shocks when he worked on outlets and the dryer when it acted up. It looked pretty painful, and it's probably not something I'd ever want to experience.

(Point of clarification: he had epilepsy before, but it was mostly absence seizures and the very rare tonic seizure. It got much worse after that accident, to the point where he has to take pretty strong medication.)

Also, is it even possible to get a light electric shock from caramel/hot fudge? I went to McDonalds with my aunt and got some sort of drink with caramel on it, there was some on the lid of the drink, and when I picked it up, the stuff on the lid leaped up and shocked my finger. Nothing huge, just like those shocks you get from touching a door knob. It kind of hurt, though.

[Fantastic Idea]

I was replacing a wall outlet the day before yesterday, and while Sophyturtle assured me we'd turned off all the breakers that could possibly control this wall, I reached in to manipulate the wires and got sat heavily on my butt by 120v of surprise power. It didn't hurt but there was definitely power coming in my left hand.

It made my headache go away for an hour. It came back though.

[ShootTheChicken]

That's why when I do any electrical work I shut off the entire house's power supply. Not worth the risk.

[Fantastic Idea]

yeah our plan wasn't the best plan. However, in fairness the circuit that this outlet was on didn't make any sense at all. It had no business having that many rooms on two different floors on it.

[zmic]

yeah our plan wasn't the best plan. However, in fairness the circuit that this outlet was on didn't make any sense at all. It had no business having that many rooms on two different floors on it.

yeah always assume that the electricity in your house has been done by 3 generations of madmen. Usually this assumption turns out to be true. Also cheap voltmeters can be bought for less than 10 euro/dollar.

[iChef]

I got a good 240 shock coming from a freezer compressor I was working on. Knocked me off my ladder, I bounced off a couple cases of french fries and landed face first on the metal floor. Really the landing hurt more than the shock.

[Ptolom]

I got a 250V shock off an exposed contact on an oscilloscope a few months ago. It was under a card which said "Warning exposed mains voltage!" but I still managed to get my finger on it. I got quite a wallop but no pain or lingering ill effects.

[Soralin]

Yeah, I've been shocked off of 120V AC a couple of times, attempting to unplug something and accidentally touching one of the prongs in the process. No burns or anything like that, it's not like a static electricity shock, more of an unpleasant buzzing sensation through my arm and body.

[pyronius]

I suppose not straight out of an outlet, but close(ish) i guess. im not an electrician or anything so i don't particularly know the difference. it may have been a lot weaker.

I was trying to repair a lamp because the contact was having issues having been bent somewhat out of shape. I unplugged it, pressed it down to rebend it, put the lightbulb in, plugged it back in, hit the switch, it didn't work, unplugged it, and repeated about five times. Apparently at some point i forgot to unplug it and just shoved the contact down with my finger while it was on. I don't remember any pain but it was extremely fast. mostly there was just an instant muscle reaction which caused me to pull back in shock. no harm done.

as i said though, the lamp was probably a lot weaker than just shoving my finger in the outlet.

edit: Oh, I'll also point out that as a teenager i had one of those joke shock pens and played with it daily for about a year. after a while my thumb stopped being able to feel electrical shock. It can still feel other sensations though.

[Jorpho]

edit: Oh, I'll also point out that as a teenager i had one of those joke shock pens and played with it daily for about a year. after a while my thumb stopped being able to feel electrical shock. It can still feel other sensations though.

Oh yes, I got one of those to help me stay awake during meetings. The only problem is the batteries don't last very long. It is sort of tempting to investigate building something that takes convenient AA's.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I had been shocked, as had a friend of mine, when we worked at Pizza Hut. Whenever either of us touched the make line (long, metal table with several bins that held the pizza toppings) and touched the retarder (fridge-like appliance used to hold some of the pan and hand-tossed crusts - temperature kept the yeast from proofing any further than it had), we would get a bit of a jolt. Our manager, who was a bitch at the time, thought we were trying to get out of working the make line, but then other employees touched it, and felt the shock as well. Once when she had to make the pizzas, she did it, and found out we were all telling the truth.

Turned out the plug for the make line had become damaged, and while touching the make line itself didn't cause any problems, it was touching the retarder while touching the make line at the same time that closed the circuit, allowing the current to flow through. Once the cord was replaced, no one made shockingly good pizzas anymore...

[Thesh]

I am under the impression that European appliances and outlets are somewhat better isolated than in the US, to compensate for the more dangerous 230V.

For major appliances with large power requirements (e.g. electric stoves, dryers, central air conditioner), we still use 240 volt power outlets. For the stoves, they are generally hidden away, but for something like a dryer it isn't always the case. If you have gas stoves and dryers, you'll probably still be using 110v.

[majorbig4]

One time as a kid I was shocked by an outlet while plugging in a stereo, I had naively tried to plug it in directly after jumping out of a pool. I remember a black mark on my thumb for a while after that.

[OBrien]

I got shock from the mains once and it hurt like a bitch but no permanent damage and, apart from a bit of a swollen hand for a day, I got out unscathed.

[DSenette]

too many times to count. i've put butter knives in sockets, screw drivers, tried to remove broken bulbs from lamps or ceiling fans, plugged in a busted night light without wondering how i'd unplug it later....

[Griffin]

Me and a friend new of a malfunctioning arcade machine - it was probably dropped from direct mains power, actually, considering we didn't do any heart damage to ourselves or the people walking by. (He'd hold the ground, I'd hold the broken part of the machine, and we'd both giggle at the person freaking out. We were... not the nicest children. Though we made quite a few friends this way, actually. Shock was still good through a chain of 5 people, so it must have at least been decently powerful)

[thorgold]

I've been shocked by 120VAC out of an outlet once -- was trying to jimmy a plug out of the outlet with one hand and managed to make contact with both plugs. Was pretty quick and almost over before I realized what happened.

Ditto. It's happened to me two or three times. Just felt a quick shock and jerked my hand away. No burns or anything that I can remember.

Same, here. Plugging in a laptop cord and my hand slipped, so I grabbed the prongs. I got a nasty zap out of that one, plus burns on my thumb and forefinger.

[elminster]

As a kid I was poking around the back of a computer where I couldn't see, trying to find a socket. After a while I thought I found it, put my finger in it to check and got a massive electric jolt. Hurt a lot, left my arm tingling for a while.
Not entirely sure what happened since I don't remember any exposed electrical parts there.

[gingermrkettle]

yeah always assume that the electricity in your house has been done by 3 generations of madmen. Usually this assumption turns out to be true. Also cheap voltmeters can be bought for less than 10 euro/dollar.

Having removed the second and third instance in my kitchen of 240V ac routed through terminal blocks that weren't enclosed, this is always good advice.

[Hawknc]

Indeed. I'm reasonably certain the wiring in my house was done by apprentice monkeys. Like, actual monkeys doing an electrical apprenticeship (there's a skills shortage going on, after all, it's not all that unreasonable).

After working with sparkies for a few years during uni, I'm reasonably competent with doing electrical household repairs and also extremely careful while I do them, so I haven't been hit with 240V yet. I've seen some people do stupid things with electricity though, such as wiring a 12V light up to 240V mains (hint: boom) or stick their finger in a live lamp socket because they were apparently "curious".

[AvatarIII]

when I was 3 or 4 I got a 240V shock, I don't think I had any burns or anything though, the moments before it happened are my earliest memory though, can't remember much from after

[marcel]

There have been a few times.
I remember one as a kid, when working on the old tv my parents had given me.
More memorable is the time I got shocke by a 380 installation. Since this was at work, I was wearing safety shoes, and the floor was isolated as well, so nowhere for the current to go. I don't remember what had gone wrong there, but I do remember that it was not my fault, and I should have been able to touch the part I was touching.

[tastelikecoke]

One time there was a busted christmas light in our school, with the wires exposed plainly. I picked up a screw lying around the floor and touched it the exposed wire. Then I guess I was grounded by a voltage of 220V reduced by the other lights. One thing's for sure, it's totally my fault.

[lemmings]

In the second grade, I stuck a paper clip into an outlet. I believe my reaction was something along the lines of, 'woah, cool!' because I convinced another student to touch it too. That kid ended up on freaking out and I recall him thinking he was dying. That reaction ended my fun as the teacher told us to stay away from it.

Most recently was about a year ago when I was tearing apart a computer scanner. The device was still plugged in and I ended up on blowing the 5A fuse when I shorted a few components with my hand. That time it wasn't a tingly sensation.

[woddfellow2]

I remember, at the age of about 4 years, digitally guiding a connector into a mains outlet and getting shocked. I do not remember ever doing that again since then.

[walkerm930]

Not entirely unrelated, but I've had the capacitor from a small digital camera's flash discharge into me. Nice snap noise. Needless to say the camera was toast too, however, it was broken anyways, having been dropped in sand, and I was trying to, unsuccessfully, clean it.

More on topic, I seem to remember being shocked, when I was about 7, by the socket of an incandescent tube lamp, after taking a bath, and then proceeding to squirm on the ground.

Also, I have one of these which includes the instructions to build a circuit that will shock you with the regular discharge of a capacitor, and runs on 12v. The output voltage would be to hard to measure with a simple voltmeter. A very popular circuit with friends and siblings.