I heard, but it could have been just a wind-up, that in some places static can be such a problem that carpets have to be earthed - that is the believable bit - the next bit is - part of the reason is that very large land masses can generate large potential gradients thus the problem is worse in Aussie and the US.
Hmmm would anyone care to demolish or confirm this?
I went on a trip to france once with a bunch of friends
and 2 or 3 of them got shocks from everything - door handles, radiators, water, other people etc etc
As soon as we got back to England, no shocks. Any explanation?
It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen an old Sherlock Holmes movie (or any episode of “Top Gear”, for that matter*) that there seems to be quite a bit of atmospheric moisture in England. I would suppose that the additional airborne moistness (relative to France, anyhow) would prevent a lot of static build-up.
~~Baloo
*No, seriously! I used to watch Top Gear on BBC Asia when I was stationed in Korea. The only episode where I didn’t see them using the winshield wipers or driving around in a light drizzle was the one where they showed how to legally buy a car in the U.S. and bring it back. I don’t suppose there are plans to bring TG to BBC America?
As a kid in Sydney during the 70s, I used to often see those little anti-static rubber strips hanging from the rear bumper of cars, and touching the road. Now that I think of it, I haven’t seen one for years. Have they been discredited? I do know that the booths on tollroads were mounted on rubber bases because the toll collectors had been complaining of shocks received when people who had been driving at high speed for a long time handed them coins.
As a postal worker, I receive shocks like this in two ways (and believe me, postal workers are hard to shock! 
). The first is when I am opening nylon airmail bags. I make sure I rest my arm against a nearby metal frame throughout the entire operation. If I forget, and open a few baggies, then ‘ZAP!’ next time I touch metal. The other time this happens is when I am driving an electric forklift. I have to make sure the forks contact the ground before I get off the machine, otherwise I’m a walking battery. These shocks always occur during July - September, when Sydney is coming out of winter, and the air is cool, dry, and windy. The fact that I’m in an airconditioned, indoor environment doesn’t seem to isolate me from the weather factors.
The advice in various posts is all good, but it concentrates on prevention. If you realise you have already built up a charge, and you don’t have a key or anything handy, then touch something metal fast and firmly with the palm of your hand. Tapping gingerly with a fingertip is much more painful.
D’uh! Mods, I’ve done gone bumped up a second damn near identical thread onto the front page. I meant to post the above reply here. Could you move it for me please, and I promise I’ll crawl back under my rock and not screw up anymore. :o
Actually, I can’t move posts. Sorry about that. Please feel free to copy it into the other thread.
We’ve been getting a spate of static shocks here at work. It’s a combination of synthetic carpet, atmospheric conditions and shuffly walking. I don’t get any shocks when wearing high heeled shoes, because it’s very difficult to shuffle in high heels. So, uh, everyone should wear high heels. Even the boys.
Also, don’t earth yourself through your mouse. Your computer won’t like it. I think it’s OK if you unplug the mouse, and then earth both the socket and the end of the mouse cable.
Last week, there was a craze started by one of my coworkers for laying the blue static smackdown on unsuspecting people. You rub your feet across the floor and build up a nice charge. Then you leap into the air, and while your feet are off the ground you touch the victim’s ear with your finger. Hilarity ensues.
Baloo: You’re so right about Top Gear. It is constantly pissing down on Top Gear - even more so, I’d say, than is statistically likely for the UK.
I just did EXACTLY what TheLoadedDog did.
Only I read his post, and manhattan’s reply. Or rather, I sort of read it.
I am such a pillock.
I’m going to post this in the other thread, if that’s OK.
Really sorry, everyone (especially the mods)
As others have pointed out, dry air is perhaps the biggest factor. The winter is VERY dry up here in Canada and in certain places I get lots of shocks. In the usually very humid summer I never get any shocks.
When I get out of my car in the winter, I have onto the metal chasis as I’m getting out of my seat. Otherwise I’ll have a nasty shock when I go to close the door.
I have a humidifier in my house so they are never a problem in there.
Something I learned by fluke while living in an dry apartment building one winter. Use keys to get rid of the charge. For some reason there is no pain when touching something metal with a key before your skin. Gives you a cool spark to watch too 
No, sod it, I’ll leave it here.
I work with a lot of expensive electronic equipment, and whenever working in the lab, we have to wear special conductive shoes as well as lab coats lined with metallic threads to prevent random discarges from zapping the delicate bits. The lab coats might look a bit silly outside a lab, but the shoes look and feel pretty much like normal shoes and pretty much eliminate those surprising shocks.
I dunno if you can get a hold of these, but the company that makes ours is called Iron Age. (they have a “shoe-mobile” that comes to our plant once a month.)
If you can’t get those, there are also conductive heel straps, probably available from most electronic supply places, but they look kinda silly.
Ron