# Add this to the list of ways I do not want to go **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920 "2010-03-01T21:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/21 "2010-03-03T20:19:14Z")
There’s just something unsettling about clicking on a link and getting an article written in German and a close up of a guys crotch. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/22 "2010-03-03T20:40:04Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Er…why did you keep doing it after you got zapped the first time? The zap only lasted a split second. The electric fence sends a pulse every 10 seconds or so one had to keep the stream of pee on the wire continuously, which is not easy to do when you are anticipating getting shocked. [QUOTE=ShibbOleth] I also doubt that, outside of James Bond films, the average electric fence is designed to kill. They’re usually designed to keep in animals. [/QUOTE] I got shocked by the electric fence a number of times while carelessly climbing through the barbed wire. As stated above, the current on an electric fence is not continuous, it is a pulse that lasts for a split second and it pulses every 10 seconds or so. All the kids in the neighborhood were shocked at least once, most more often and none of us were killed. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/23 "2010-03-03T22:01:35Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > There was a Mythbusters where they showed this was very, very unlikely. The stream isn’t actually continuous and thus electricity shouldn’t be able to reach one’s body. They showed the only way it could happen would be if one were to get extremely close (a couple inches) to the source of the electricity while urinating. :dubious: Didn’t they also use a much larger tube? I seem to recall a horse whinney sound when the replaced the realistically sized tube with a half-inch inside diameter one… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/24 "2010-03-03T22:47:30Z")
Huh. The Mythbusters might have to visit this one yet again. They busted it the first time and then decided it was plausible, but unlikely, if you were peeing on an electric fence. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/25 "2010-03-03T22:51:37Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Huh. The Mythbusters might have to visit this one yet again. They busted it the first time and then decided it was plausible, but unlikely, if you were peeing on an electric fence. Yeah, I remember that. Maybe the electricity they used was household a/c, though, at 110v or 220v. I’ll bet power line electric is d/c and much higher voltage! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/26 "2010-03-03T22:52:19Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > There’s just something unsettling about clicking on a link and getting an article written in German and a close up of a guys crotch. 1. Moved from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. 2. [http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif](http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif) **Gfactor** Shizzle Moderator ---
**Author:** ![TheHegemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9c0ed/32.png) [@TheHegemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheHegemon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/27 "2010-03-04T10:12:37Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > 1. [http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif](http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif) > > **Gfactor** > Shizzle Moderator So wrong! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/28 "2010-03-04T10:14:32Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Huh. The Mythbusters might have to visit this one yet again. They busted it the first time and then decided it was plausible, but unlikely, if you were peeing on an electric fence. Electric fences are much lower voltage and less amp, which will give you a little jolt, but that’s it… unless you have a pacemaker or heart condition. > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Yeah, I remember that. Maybe the electricity they used was household a/c, though, at 110v or 220v. I’ll bet power line electric is d/c and much higher voltage! Powerlines are A/C, it travels a longer distance with less power lost than D/C. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/29 "2010-03-04T10:16:04Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > 1. [http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif](http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif) > > **Gfactor** > Shizzle Moderator Americans and their obsession with “The Hoff”… it’s just insane. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/30 "2010-03-04T13:12:30Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > 1. [http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif](http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif) > > **Gfactor** > Shizzle Moderator Words fail me. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/31 "2010-03-04T14:29:04Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > 1. Moved from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. > > 2. [http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif](http://pythong.org/hasselhoffian-recursion.gif) > > **Gfactor** > Shizzle Moderator Two-click rule! Two-click rule! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/32 "2010-03-04T14:41:52Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > I thought this thread was going to be about [http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1018984/teen-drowns-in-dunkin-donuts-sewage-pit](http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1018984/teen-drowns-in-dunkin-donuts-sewage-pit) So that’s what dunkin donuts are dunked in. ---
**Author:** ![Silmandil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Silmandil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silmandil)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/33 "2010-03-04T14:46:16Z")
> [@Doughbag](#): > > Electric fences are much lower voltage and less amp, which will give you a little jolt, but that’s it… unless you have a pacemaker or heart condition. The electric fence on our farm ran around 500,000 Volts. It had to be strong enough to go through a dumb cow’s hair and skull and get them to not walk through the fence. That is enough voltage to arc a little. But you are correct, the amperage is much less. Touching the tip of my finger would give a jolt up to the midpoint of my upper arm, but never killed me. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/34 "2010-03-04T14:51:29Z")
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but when I was a freshman in college, I was part of a group that talked a reasonably obnoxious drunk fratrat into peeing on the sparkplug of a running lawnmower. It was quite hilarious at the time (we were making jokes about how his eyes didn’t stop spinning in opposite directions for an hour, etc.), but with good old 20-20 hindsight and the wisdom of age, I realize that he could have been seriously hurt or killed by it. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/35 "2010-03-04T14:51:46Z")
My favorite response to “How do you know you won’t like it if you’ve never tried it?” Has always been: “I’ve never slid down a ten foot razor blade into a vat of alcohol, but I know I wouldn’t like it.” That’s also on my list of ways I don’t want to go. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/36 "2010-03-04T14:55:30Z")
> [@Silmandil](#): > > The electric fence on our farm ran around 500,000 Volts. It had to be strong enough to go through a dumb cow’s hair and skull and get them to not walk through the fence. That is enough voltage to arc a little. > > But you are correct, the amperage is much less. > > Touching the tip of my finger would give a jolt up to the midpoint of my upper arm, but never killed me. Maybe 50,000 volts, but never 500,000 volts! The breakdown voltage of dry air is around 33 Kv/cm. So, 500,000 volts would make sparks = 500,000/33,000 = 15cm or 6" long! ---
**Author:** ![Silmandil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Silmandil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silmandil)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/37 "2010-03-04T15:04:56Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Maybe 50,000 volts, but never 500,000 volts! > > The breakdown voltage of dry air is around 33 Kv/cm. So, 500,000 volts would make sparks = 500,000/33,000 = 15cm or 6" long! Six inches does seem a little long. And I did trust that the labeling on the tester we had was accurate. Apparently not. Sparks were around half an inch. ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/38 "2010-03-04T22:14:16Z")
It looks like it is urban legend still. An autopsy indicated he was electrocuted by touching the downed power line with his hand: [MyNorthwest.com - MyNorthwest.com](http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=293213) ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/39 "2010-03-05T14:09:29Z")
> [@Silmandil](#): > > Six inches does seem a little long. And I did trust that the labeling on the tester we had was accurate. Apparently not. Sparks were around half an inch. And 50,000/33,000 = 1.51cm, which is about right. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920/40 "2010-03-05T14:31:09Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > They may sometime call it a rod, but that doesn’t mean you want to use it as a lightning rod. [nit] That would be ‘grounding rod’… [/nit] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-this-to-the-list-of-ways-i-do-not-want-to-go/530920.md?page=3)