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[Closed] What would happen if you bit a live electric wire?

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Think I just had a lucky escape. Neighbour cut his cable whilst trimming a hedge, I was reconnecting the cable and trimming the inner wires with my teeth. Only once I had put it back together did I realise that it had been plugged in and turned on all along!! I was saved by a faulty fuse.

What would have happened if the fuse had been ok?

Serious question btw...


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:12 pm
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In the words of the Pain Men....there's only one way to find out.

Serious answer, the trimmer (and any other outdoor appliance) should be used with a plug-in circuit breaker (or RCD).


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:18 pm
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Do you like the smell of cooked meat?


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:20 pm
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Probably nothing more than a bit of a surprise. Or instant death. One or the other.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:20 pm
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Yeah, maybe a heart attack...or maybe sudden spikey hair.

My wife says you're silly.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:22 pm
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loddrik - Member

What would have happened if the fuse had been ok?

If you don't try you never know. Go on you know you wan to.

As far as I can remember, as a kid, I was playing with the wall socket ... all I know was that the sensation was like having a massing vibrator vibrating through your entire body but the point of contact was hot and was like being hammered (my hand was rather painful).

The second time the wall socket gave out big flash / exploded (I think I was poking it with some toy motor) ...

๐Ÿ˜†


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:23 pm
 Bear
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Well one thing for sure you would have been the receipent of the Darwin Award.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:23 pm
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Death, or the quickening. Go back and find out. ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:31 pm
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Electirc shock due to moisture as well assume you earthed it which you would almost certainly have done. You would probably have clamped your mouth shut [ you may have been thrown free but i doubt it and taken the full charge till the power was disconnected. The charge would in all likelyhood [taking the shortest route ]have crossed your heart/lungs/testicles/legs etc and stopped the heart working via a heart attack as you slowly cooked due to resistance.
If true both very lucky and very very stupid.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:32 pm
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Do you remember the ending to Jaws 2 when the shark bit the electric cable?

That would have been you, that would.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:54 pm
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Youd have got permanently magnetised fillings ๐Ÿ˜†


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:57 pm
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My dad actually done this too himself, same as the op, baring wires with his teeth. Madness. He reckons he's immune to leccy now.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:57 pm
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So what would happen if you stuck the end of one of those two pin appliance mains leads in your mouth? Current would surely flow through your tongue and back to neutral.. causing your tongue to explode or burn to a crisp, but I suspect you wouldn't die...?


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 8:59 pm
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It only take 50ma for a fatal shock ...


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 9:13 pm
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You would turn into a fairy

light


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 9:15 pm
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[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 9:59 pm
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My chicken doesn't believe you โ—


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:03 pm
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'Jaws' in a James bond film bit through a live cable & he was ok.....

๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:03 pm
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One of the maintenance guys at the hotel my dad managed did exactly the same as the OP, except the wires were live. Knocked him off his feet, and blew two neat holes in his front teeth. Turns out his boss had warned him on a number of occasions that he shouldn't strip wire with his teeth. Lesson learned the hard way.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:09 pm
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TheBrick - Member

It only take 50ma for a fatal shock ...
Posted 58 minutes ago # Report-Post


That is the limit for leakage for direct cardiac application. I would suspect in reality there is a large amount of head room built in to that.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:16 pm
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For sure that a lower bound, but the potential is there and a live wire into a nice wet mouth with nice most path to the heart means the current required to hurt your self in that situation will not be very high.


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:21 pm
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Ok I'll fess up I've done it ๐Ÿ™

I was at boarding school and I had extension leads running all over the room to power our TV's and other electrics.

I needed to rewire a socket on the end of a lead so asked my friend to turn the electrics off which he duly did, but turned the wrong socket off!

I stuck the lead into my gob to strip the wire and got blown clean across the room , this was an old Manor house and the rooms were a good 30ft wide!

Everyone was very impressed!

If no one takes the piss out of me too much for this I might even admit to the lighter gas incident where I blew most of my face off ๐Ÿ˜ณ


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 10:30 pm
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Pepper, If I was to recount the amount of times I have been stupid enough to give myself a belt we would be here a very long time.

Sad thing is I really should know better! Laziness, being in a hurry and just plain old "it'll be reet" to blame in most cases.

The amazing thing is generally in domestic mains you get that little tingle when something ain't how it is meant to be. Still have another poke rather than turning off at the fuse board though. Or is that just me? ๐Ÿ˜ณ


 
Posted : 02/06/2011 11:17 pm