# Lamps That Touch On/Touch Off **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2000, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamps-that-touch-on-touch-off/28167 "2000-08-04T20:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamps-that-touch-on-touch-off/28167/21 "2000-08-05T20:28:42Z")
No, they don’t. I found that you have to touch the lamp with skin (assuming you have no other objects) to set it off, and tests prove teeth don’t work either. I just thought I’d add my $0.02. ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamps-that-touch-on-touch-off/28167/22 "2000-08-06T01:20:35Z")
When my bedside ‘touch on’ lamp went flooey, the lamp fixer upper said that it was the warmth of the hand that turns it on, here, I thought that meant the lamp was much more interesting than I had originally thought! Oh well… ---
**Author:** ![JoeyBlades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a87d85/32.png) [@JoeyBlades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeyBlades)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamps-that-touch-on-touch-off/28167/23 "2000-08-07T14:27:01Z")
Padeye: > [@](#): > > I think that was a phase shifter or flanger on that track. Nope. It was a theremin. I know this because (1) I’ve seen Jimmy use it on stage (2) It says so right in the album credits and (3) I saw an interview with Page where he talks about how he got the idea to use one and how difficult it was for him to control it at first… handy: > [@](#): > > I have a frog that ribbets if you walk in front of it. How it knows that someone is walking in front of it? Most of those use a simple light sensor - similar to Furbies. Arjuna: > [@](#): > > Actually, an inductive proximity detector probably won’t sense a human… True - humans don’t affect inductance as much as an iron core, but they do have a measurable effect. There are sensors that operate on this principle. > [@](#): > > You don’t need to actually touch the plate to affect the capacitance True, but as I pointed out, you can increase the distance of non contact operation by accumulating greater charge on your person. Also, supporting my theory, if you touch one of these lamps after you’ve grounded yourself (i.e. you’ve depleted your charge) quite often the lamp won’t respond. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamps-that-touch-on-touch-off/28167.md?page=1)