# Hydrofield ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydrofield/8077>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 3, 2000, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydrofield/8077 "2000-03-03T06:59:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydrofield/8077/1 "2000-03-03T06:59:00Z")

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On the Barenaked Ladies CD, Stunt, track three is called Light up My Room. It features the lyric :

“A hydrofield cuts through my neighborhood. Somehow that always just made me feel good. I can put a spare bulb in my hand and light up my yard.”

## So what the hell is a hydrofield? I’m assuming it has something to do with electricity. I asked a couple of Canadians and they didn’t know, so I’m guessing it’s not a Canadian thing. (BNL are from Ontario)

I am the user formerly known as puffington.

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**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydrofield/8077/2 "2000-03-03T15:10:00Z")

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Maybe it’s a play on words:

Hydroelectric field

They use a lot of hydroelectricity in Canada, maybe there are a lot of high voltage lines to get that juice to the cities.

That’s my WAG.

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**Author:** ![Kakkerlak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@Kakkerlak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kakkerlak)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hydrofield/8077/3 "2000-03-04T00:50:00Z")

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In Ontario, the big public power authority is “Ontario Hydro”, because, yes, most power is produced in hydroelectric generators and dams. The term made it into the vernacular; you pay a “hydro bill”, and because you clear out all the trees underneath it, the path of a high-tension line is called a “field”.

You can in fact do the trick in question; hold a fluorescent bulb near any line above 16 KV and you can get flickering. Connect a big loop of wire between the contacts on either end and it works even better.

I used to know the BNL’s manager’s girfriend back in Toronto… I hear there’s a song about her but I couldn’t say which one.