# Anti-static wrist bands

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 24, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962 "2009-10-24T14:52:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962/1 "2009-10-24T14:52:43Z")

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Am I just being an ignorant numskull or shouldn’t these act just like a wire with clip at one end and a conducting wrist-attachment at the other (which is exactly what I thought they were)? I got one of the [Belkin](http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=107834) ones but when I checked it with a multimeter there was no electrical connection between the crocodile clip and the wrist end of the wire. I got another from Maplin (roughly speaking the UK equivalent of RadioShack) - almost identical but branded as Maplin’s own - and it was the same.

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**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962/2 "2009-10-24T14:57:39Z")

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Seems like I was [mistaken](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antistatic_wrist_strap) :smack: they have a 1 megaohm resistor. Anyone want to buy a spare wrist band?

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**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:** [October 24, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962/3 "2009-10-24T16:11:22Z")

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FYI - the 1 meg resistor is to prevent you from being electrocuted. It’s a short for static charge.

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**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-static-wrist-bands/514962/4 "2009-10-24T16:27:28Z")

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Obligatory [xkcd](http://xkcd.com/649/).