h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

5. Do not cut the grass with an electric hover mower when it's raining.

This little piece of advice could prevent someone else from developing a phobia about walking on grass (the green stuff, not the brown stuff).

After a slightly embarrassing, though painless, 240V experience a couple of weeks ago (after a shock-free decade or two, I must add), I'd supplement the 'don't dismantle plugged-in equipment' suggestion with the following:

2(a). ..and when you've fixed it, _don't_ plug it back in to test it until it's been adequately reassembled.

and add the electrical engineer's first commandment, for when you have to work on live kit:

6. Wear rubber soled shoes and keep one hand behind your back.


That said, for domestic supplies, 'usually results in death' is an overstatement - the majority of shocks are surprising, rather than fatal, don't result in any damage, and so are never reported, so any official statistics are likely to be useless. (dodgy hearts, bare feet/wet floor, and hairdryers in the bath excepted)

Also, concerning caves (original point 4), you _may_ be safe from man-made electricity, but for high mountain caves, there can be a significant risk of lightning shock, - it can be attracted to cave entrances, often the rock is wet, as is the caver, and wire ladders or even wet rope can make good enough conductors. Ground-conducted shock is possible for some distance from the actual strike as well. I'm aware of more than one close shave

Earlier this week, two young women were found dead under a tree in a London park (I forget which one) - the police cordoned off the "crime scene", only to have an autopsy confirm that they had been struck by lightning while sheltering there.

(Oh, and on the "one hand behind your back", I always heard it as "one hand in your pocket"...)

It was Hyde Park. More poignant, however, was the fact that the Police found it necessary to cordon off the area and treat the incident as suspicious when the two unfortunate young ladies were so clearly frazzled by lightning.

Apparently the safest place in which to shelter during an electrical storm is a motor car, as you are completely insulated via the tyres. Whether this applies to convertables is unknown. Or, indeed, if your tyres are made of metal.

Anyone who grew up in the 70s, and whose family owned a copy of the Guinness Book of Records will be familiar with that unbelievably unlucky American park ranger who was struck by lightning something like 8 times. You'd have thought that after the second or third time he'd have got the message and worn wellies to work. Or at least stuck a light bulb in his gob and done an Uncle Fester impersonation.

Actually, I think the record for being struck is up to 11 times, last I heard...

But, of course, the best way I can think of, after hearing the news today, to keep from being electrocuted? Don't get caught doing something that you would be given the Death Penalty for in Florida.
(they apparently have just voted to still use 'the chair')

I always thought the best way not to get hit by a bolt of lightning was to lie down. (as good a reason for sex in the open as any)

DONT PLAY GOLF!

The other reason that a car is safe in a thunderstorm is that the metal bodywork forms a Faraday cage (nothing to do with me ). The lightning would much rather pass to earth by going around the metal than by going through the air, or the occupant, contained in the vehicle. By this measure, and excluding other factors, I imagine that being in a convertible wouldn't be any safer than standing outside.

I remember seeing some impressive pictures of a scientist standing in a spherical metal cage, between the two globes of a giant Van der Graff generator. Enormous bolts of electricity were flying from one globe to the other and the only thing protecting him was the fact that the electricity preferred to go via the thin bars of the metal cage, rather than through him (to anthropomorphize electricity a bit).

As for the park ranger, his name was Roy Sullivan and he was struck seven times between 1942 and 1977. He commited suicide in 1983.

Also, if you're happily practising your archery and a thunderstorm rolls up - STOP. Lightning has a curious love of bows, especially ones with lovely aluminium or carbon arrows in.

And a further idea for avoiding electrocution:

Go and live in the stone age.

This is a bit impractical until somebody invents a time machine, though.

not quite. A car creates a 'faraday cage' which means every tiny ikkle bit of electicity is taken round the outside, and doesn't hit you

Yes... perhaps a _USEFUL_ tip would be nice

Anyway, living in the stone age is just as safe as living in a cave.

Perhaps the best way to avoid electrocution would be to wear a suit made of a conducting material (and gloves, and balaclava) such as a suit of armour. This means that if you do happen to stick your fingers in a socket or open up a microwave then again you have this faraday cage effect which means you don't get (much) electricity flowing through you. Although this could cause problems to your sex/office/social lives, not to mention sleeping or breathing.

Maybe the best way to avoid death by electrocution is to poison yourself

The best way to avoid electrocution, other than suicide, would be to live 40,000 leagues beneath the sea. Lightning would be unable to strike you at the occean floor, though your suit of armour may well get damp, so remember to take your towel to dry yourself off with.

Bluebottle? as in "He's fallen in the water"?

Anyway, what about electric eels etc....?

Another of the Electrical Engineer's commandments for working on live kit is:

If you absolutely *must* touch the wires (for whatever perverse personal quirk), brush with the back of your hand, not the palm.

Remember, when exposed to current, your muscles contract. So, if you were grabbing the wire, the current will make your hand squeeze tighter and tighter and tighter. If you use the back of your hand you will grab thin air and also instinctively contract your arm muscles, pulling the hand away from the wire.

Hmmm... here're two that're good for working on appliances with sensitive circuitry which are already unplugged:

Even if it's unplugged, that doesn't mean you can touch anywhere. Capacitors can store an astonishing amount of charge (read high initial current flow).

Even if it's unplugged, make sure you are always grounded while playing with the inside of your computer (keep some body part touching it's chassis) or else you could fry some of that oh-so-expensive hardware. (Sorry, this is more about electrocuting the computer than it electrocuting you)

And the problem with your suit of armour under the sea is that salt water corrodes steel like goodness knows what. It'd fall apart in a few weeks, probably. And how would you breath?

The other problem is that 40,000 leagues (how far is a league, anybody?) below the surface, the pressure would quite definitely be fatal, although not in an electric kind of way, which is a bonus, I suppose.

And another tip for avoiding household electrocution is to never stick a metal implement into your toaster to retrieve something which has stuck if the toaster is still in any way connected to the power source.

Also, don't stand in puddles during thunderstorms holding a television aerial (refer to Addams Family...)

Or install a new electric socket using aluminium foil instead of trailing live cables over the floor, because it looks so much cooler. This is about the dumbest thing you could ever do, short of pouring a bucket of water on your electricity meter.

Without looking it up, a league is something on the order of a mile. When Verne spoke of, "20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea", he was referring to distance traveled (a couple times around the world, as I recall) rather than depth.

40, 000 leagues beneath the sea would be well on your way to the Moon, but that's a different Jules Verne story!

Pedantically,

Duncan

"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward,
Into the Valley of Death rode the six-hundred."

Did they get electrocuted as well??

Having looked it up, a league is 3 miles. 40,000 leagues (120,000 miles) is halfway to the moon (give or take a couple of percent)

Really pedantically

Sleeper

oh for god's sake this is getting petty. One of the best ways to avoid death by electrocution would be live in a car, methinks (due to the previously discussed faraday cage effect)

Cut