# I didn't know you could do so much damage so fast without explosives or flammables. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233 "2005-01-29T03:12:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233/41 "2005-01-30T02:21:57Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Just wondering why you hadn’t moved your irreplaceable furniture out of the way before they started. The irreplaceable furniture was functioning as the TV stand when they started. She lost control of the TV before she could put it back down. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233/42 "2005-01-30T03:01:51Z")
I’m sorry the table was a keepsake for you. And I forgot to say good on your father for standing up for the poor kid. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233/43 "2005-01-30T03:43:53Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > They probably didn’t even have time to _think_ about flipping it. Pick it up, the center of gravity takes it right over, BANG onto the end table. They may not have ever carried a TV before Well, that was what I was getting at with my post, so perhaps I do agree with \*\*astro \*\* after all. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233/44 "2005-01-30T13:29:30Z")
I’d bet the son knew what to expect when lifting the TV, from experience. When I (and probably like a lot of other men) was 12, I often got conscripted into helping to move bulky items. And in general, it’s not the weight, really, but the bulk. If one (or two) are able to balance the front against the rest of the unit, moving it is then a matter of not banging the rear of the unit into walls, furniture, and the like. I successfully moved my old 27" TV upstairs and downstairs by myself on several occasions. It really is a matter of knowing how to handle it and not near as much a matter of strength. > [@Boyo Jim](#): > > I wonder where the charge went? There was no bright flash, the end table is wooden, so I wouldn’t think it was carried off to ground through that. > > Then again the TV has been unplugged and unused for months, so maybe it just gradually faded away before the accident. This is rather likely: a CRT will tend to dissipate it’s charge over time. (NOTE: if one feels the need to open their TV’s cabinet DON’T rely on that). Even if the TV had just been powered off when it was broken, however, there would still be little effect. The CRT’s ability to store significant charge is primarily due to its physical size. The inside and outside of a CRT are coated with conductive paint (“Aquadag”) that form the plates of a capacitor, with an area of several square feet. When the tube shatters, the small pieces individually hold little charge, and as pieces slide around and hit the floor, inside of the cabinet, etc. they’ll give up the remaining charge to the environment. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233/45 "2005-01-30T17:17:57Z")
> [@Cleophus](#): > > \This is rather likely: a CRT will tend to dissipate it’s charge over time. (NOTE: if one feels the need to open their TV’s cabinet DON’T rely on that).\ They may dissipate over time, or they may not. I got my information about how dangerous TV capacitors are from a TV repairman who got blown across the room by a TV that had sat in his repair shop for months. All I’m trying to say about TV capacitors is that they are dangerous even when the TV is turned off and has been for a long time, and most people don’t realize that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-you-could-do-so-much-damage-so-fast-without-explosives-or-flammables/287233.md?page=2)