# Penny arcade shocker at Disneyland **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339 "2005-03-13T16:24:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/1 "2005-03-13T16:24:34Z")
The Penny Arcade on Disneyland’s Main Street has a ‘game’ that is awesome. Man, I love this thing! It is a cabinet with an electrical coil inside, and a large gauge at the top. There are two simple metal handles protruding from the front of the cabinet. You drop your money in and grab the handles. An electrical current flows through your body. As the current increases the needle on the large gauge moves up and up. The ‘game’ is to hold onto the handles – with ever-increasing current – until the needle reaches the top and the bell rings. If you let go, or when the bell rings, the game is ended and the current is shut off. After playing it several times in a row, your biceps start to flutter and you feel energised. It’s a great game! 1. What is this game called, either by trade name or generically? 2. Do any plans or schematics exist online? 3. What kind of coil does it use? Something out of a Model T Ford? Or is it from another device? Or were the coils made specifically for this machine? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/2 "2005-03-13T17:35:09Z")
Well, [I found this](http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?letter=E&game_id=10956). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/3 "2005-03-13T18:31:05Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > An electrical current flows through your body. As the current increases the needle on the large gauge moves up and up. The ‘game’ is to hold onto the handles – with ever-increasing current – until the needle reaches the top and the bell rings…your biceps start to flutter… If the current is flowing thru your torso to the point of pain and fluttering, I imagine it is coursing thru your heart as well. That might have been a great thrill in 1906, but do you really want to take that kind of chance with your main life support system? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/4 "2005-03-13T18:34:18Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > do you really want to take that kind of chance with your main life support system? Yes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bike\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Bike\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bike_Rider)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/5 "2005-03-13T18:42:08Z")
If it’s like the ones I’ve seen, it’s simply vibrating the handles at increasing speeds to make it feel like electricity is flowing through you. The coils and the guage are just for show. Even knowing this, it’s still a challenge to hold on till the end, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/6 "2005-03-13T18:55:50Z")
> [@Bike Rider](#): > > If it’s like the ones I’ve seen, it’s simply vibrating the handles at increasing speeds to make it feel like electricity is flowing through you. The coils and the guage are just for show. Even knowing this, it’s still a challenge to hold on till the end, though. No, that’s not the same as the one at Disneyland. The one at Disneyland actually does send electricity through your body. You can even do it with other people, with one person holding one handle, another person holding the other handle, and the two people holding hands. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/7 "2005-03-13T19:31:44Z")
[I’ve seen this](http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?letter=A&game_id=10550) creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky novelty game at Seaside Heights, New Jersey. It seems to be in the same style (I didn’t try it), and it apparently works according to **Bike Rider** ’s description. Eisner might be evil, but do you _really_ think he would actually electrocute parkgoers? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/8 "2005-03-13T19:54:47Z")
[http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node\_id=946278](http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=946278) This is a description of the Addams Family game as others found. I don’t know if it’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/9 "2005-03-13T20:09:03Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > No, that’s not the same as the one at Disneyland. The one at Disneyland actually does send electricity through your body. And you know this, _how_? Next time take a VOM with you, and have another party test you. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/10 "2005-03-13T20:36:31Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > No, that’s not the same as the one at Disneyland. The one at Disneyland actually does send electricity through your body. You can even do it with other people, with one person holding one handle, another person holding the other handle, and the two people holding hands. Ah, but what if one person holds each handle, and you _don’t_ touch each other? ---
**Author:** ![ShortBus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@ShortBus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShortBus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/11 "2005-03-13T20:37:41Z")
As litigious as this society has gotten, I would highly doubt that this really does send electricity through your body. What would happen if someone with a pacemaker used it? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/12 "2005-03-13T20:37:54Z")
The Penny arcade shocker at Disneyland and the like have been around a long long time. To the best information I can recall it is a high voltage, low current device. The current being so low as to not cause concern heartwise with the possible exception of a heart patient. The piezo-crystal lighters for gas grills will give you such a jolt every time you push the button if you are in contact with the ‘hot’ tip and the lighter ground. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/13 "2005-03-13T20:43:31Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > And you know this, _how_? Next time take a VOM with you, and have another party test you. I’ve used both types, and the sensation of each is different. > [@mobo85](#): > > Eisner might be evil, but do you _really_ think he would actually electrocute parkgoers? It’s not electrocution; just a mild current that stops before it can cause any damage. It’s not the Addams Family machine. It looks like the one in the link on my second post. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/14 "2005-03-13T20:53:41Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > The Penny arcade shocker at Disneyland and the like have been around a long long time. > > To the best information I can recall it is a high voltage, low current device. The current being so low as to not cause concern heartwise with the possible exception of a heart patient. Or: What **springears** said. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/15 "2005-03-13T20:54:29Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > It’s not electrocution; just a mild current… I tried the machine at the Disneyland arcade in ~1980. The juice got pretty intense after a while. It’s electric, **not** a vibrator. The machine is still there? That’s surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/16 "2005-03-13T20:59:53Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > The juice got pretty intense after a while. That’s why I liked it! I thought it could be juiced up a little though. Not _quite_ intense enough. (I guess they have to the current low enough to be safe; but still!) > [@Squink](#): > > The machine is still there? That’s surprising. I was last there about three years ago, and it was still there. They used to have two of them, but I only saw one the last time I was there. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/17 "2005-03-14T10:18:00Z")
Did you need to use the bathroom soon after? Is this the device Tesla used on Samuel Clemens? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/18 "2005-03-14T12:00:02Z")
**Johnny L.A.** , be careful guy, I don’t want to see you on the “Darwin Awards” any time soon. You go asking for schematics to a contraption like that; it kind of makes me wonder. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/19 "2005-03-14T13:47:15Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Did you need to use the bathroom soon after? Is this the device Tesla used on Samuel Clemens? Ar? 😕 > [@SHAKES](#): > > You go asking for schematics to a contraption like that; it kind of makes me wonder. 😉 Oh, you don’t need to wonder! I _totally_ want one of these! 😃 Of course, I’ll never _actually_ get around to making one because I’ve got so many other things going on; but I’d still like to know how to. Does anyone know the voltage and amperage of these devices? ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339/20 "2005-03-14T19:09:49Z")
Oddly enough, I read [this](http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2005-03-14) before opening this thread. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penny-arcade-shocker-at-disneyland/294339.md?page=2)