Bubblegum Moments

[GOG]

I had a crew in earlier this week to do fire mitigation around my place. It's a vast improvement and good for a little peace of mind. Not much, but a wee bit.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

Yes, the Swiss Army Knife remains in a personal collection of 'Special Moments'.....

Someone I went to school with, that lived in the same town as me, managed to melt two notches into the blade of a Swiss Army Knife.

Apparently he was curious what would happen if he laid it across the two prongs of an electrical cord that was still plugged in, but pulled out slightly.

This guy was the most accident prone person I have met in my life. Half were caused by stupidity, and the other half seemed to be just dumb luck. I think the majority of times that my friends and I hung out with him involved a catastrophe or near death experience of some sort.

Oh, the stories I could tell...

 

[clearconscience]

I was working on a boiler about a year ago and thought I fixed the problem (on bad info from the Technician on site) and told him to go turn the breaker back on.
I was kneeling in front of the box where all the electrical components are, thankfully my ankle started to hurt so I stood up and took a few steps to the side when he turned the breaker on and a huge blue arc flew out of the box.
That would have blasted me.

Thank God for old creaky ankles.

Turned out the main heating element was split open.

 

[PNWguy]

I was working on a boiler about a year ago and thought I fixed the problem (on bad info from the Technician on site) and told him to go turn the breaker back on.
I was kneeling in front of the box where all the electrical components are, thankfully my ankle started to hurt so I stood up and took a few steps to the side when he turned the breaker on and a huge blue arc flew out of the box.
That would have blasted me.

Thank God for old creaky ankles.

Turned out the main heating element was split open.

My company makes equipment that focuses on arc flash protection. It is no joke. Some impressive videos circulating at work of the dire consequences of it.

Arc Flash Video: When Increased Work Task Risk Level Not Recognized

 

[jbett98]

17 years old, kicked out of my parents house and was shacking up in an old barn tack room during the middle of winter and freezing my azz off.
I found a huge stack of cedar roof shingles and decided to nail them up on the inside of the tack room so the east wind wouldn't blow through the cracks in the slab siding.
I had an electric space heater plugged into an old mechanics trouble light and 1/3rd way thru the shingle project, the trouble lights extension cord fell out of the lights base and pitched the room into total darkness.
I lit a match and proceeded to strip the insulation off the two wires and without thinking put both wires into my mouth to pull off the insulation.
I quickly found out what sitting in electric chair must feel like when they throw the switch, all because someone in the distant past had put a silver dime behind the previously blown old style glass fuse and it hadn't burnt out like I thought.
I went back to work after fixing the cord.
The next day I woke up to find out that the middle section of the cedar shingles were all wavy (sort of like rolling waves on an ocean) but the upper rows went back to straight lines like the lower part.
The owner of the barn came by to inspect my handy work and marveled at my artistic flair in getting the shingles so perfectly wavy.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

My company makes equipment that focuses on arc flash protection. It is no joke. Some impressive videos circulating at work of the dire consequences of it.

Arc Flash Video: When Increased Work Task Risk Level Not Recognized

SEL?

I love seeing the semi-controlled arcs on the big switch gear, but the runaway arcs and panel explosions terrify me!

I like this video better:

And for the true geeks among us:

 

[Capn Jack]

My experience with arc was when a 440 VAC switch exploded in my face.
I spent 3 days with my eyes bandaged shut from flash burns.
My wife has quite a story about her conversation with the hospital when they called.

 

[surevaliance]

The moment when you realized that today is no different than yesterday and tomorrow competes against both.

 

[Alexx1401]

Someone I went to school with, that lived in the same town as me, managed to melt two notches into the blade of a Swiss Army Knife.

Apparently he was curious what would happen if he laid it across the two prongs of an electrical cord that was still plugged in, but pulled out slightly.

This guy was the most accident prone person I have met in my life. Half were caused by stupidity, and the other half seemed to be just dumb luck. I think the majority of times that my friends and I hung out with him involved a catastrophe or near death experience of some sort.

Oh, the stories I could tell...

When A kid moved to farm type area. first time I saw an electric fence. Some other kids tried to get me to pee on it. I was smart enough to pick up that something was wrong and refused. When I saw them talk another into it I could see I was correct. Decades later Wife has nice Koi pond I made. Raccoons kept coming at night, getting on top and would knock plants and decorations off. So since we had no dogs then I put a hot wire around the base. Kept them off. One day she is out there watering, ground all wet, she brushes bare leg against wire, nothing happens. I am sitting there drinking a beer. She tells me wire no longer works, shows me by bending down to touch wire. I said it works fine, you are wearing shoes with rubber soles, the Raccoons are not. She does not believe me. I figure ok you're an adult, so I say put one hand on that wet concrete and then touch the wire. She does, she screams, she was mad at me since I was laughing so hard I spilled my beer. I said I did try to tell you.................

 

[xlsbob]

I don't even remember where some of the scars came from but I know they weren't from being smart.

 

[Alexx1401]

I don't even remember where some of the scars came from but I know they weren't from being smart.

LOL, when I was a foreman at one plant where a lot of really hot parts were often a job I was forever getting good burns. Since I often was not wearing the protective gear, would often just use a pair of large pliers to pick up stuff to look at. Often would end up with nice burn. Wife would see one, how did that happen? I would look, shrug, don't know. How can you not know where that came from!!!!

 

[Capn Jack]

I just have to stand naked in front of a mirror to see evidence of most of the
dumb things I've done in my life.

 

[SUPER X]

Bubblegum Moments, I'm sure we've all had some....

Like the time you saw the tiny screw you've been looking for disappear up the shop vac nozzle.

The first time you tried to mix glue in a Styrofoam cup...

Sitting a screw driver on the fender of a running truck. With non shielded fan.
The driver grazed my head just above the ear.

It would have been interesting to see the reading on a chronograph . That thing was moving.