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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Power-dressing man leaves trail of destruction |
| 2005-09-16 |
| He walks into a room and...you can just feel the electricity... SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building. GODZIRRA!!!! Frank Clewer, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket, was oblivious to the growing electrical current that was building up as his clothes rubbed together. When he walked into a building in the country town of Warrnambool in the southern state of Victoria Thursday, the electrical charge ignited the carpet."It sounded almost like a firecracker," Clewer told Australian radio Friday."Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt." I am the God of Hellfire! Employees, unsure of the cause of the mysterious burning smell, telephoned firefighters who evacuated the building."There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear a cracking noise -- a bit like a whip -- both inside and outside the building," said fire official Henry Barton. Firefighters cut electricity to the building thinking the burns might have been caused by a power surge. Nah, it was just Frank the Walking Car Battery... Clewer, who after leaving the building discovered he had scorched a piece of plastic on the floor of his car, returned to seek help from the firefighters. "We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion, where his clothes would have self-ignited," Barton said. "I've been firefighting for over 35 years and I've never come across anything like this," he said. It just goes to show ya, it's always something... Firefighters took possession of Clewer's jacket and stored it in the courtyard of the fire station, where it continued to give off a strong electrical current. Wonder if the alien abduction had anything to do with it? David Gosden, a senior lecturer in electrical engineering at Sydney University, told Reuters that for a static electricity charge to ignite a carpet, conditions had to be perfect."Static electricity is a similar mechanism to lightning, where you have clouds rubbing together and then a spark generated by very dry air above them," said Gosden. ...and then he exploded. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #12 Maybe he ought to change into this costume. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2005-09-16 23:46 |
| #11 If he had only been packing an eel-skin wallet and popped a Velamint, we might have found the secret to cold fusion. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2005-09-16 23:41 |
| #10 "measured a current of 40,000 volts" I guess journalists and their editors don't even know basic science. Current is measured in amperes, a.k.a. "amps". And that's an implanted defibrillator, Elvis*, not a pacemaker. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2005-09-16 20:45 |
| #9 Drop the woolen skivvies and run! Every girl's crazy 'bout a charged up man. I have a hilarious story to share. My uncle, during the throes of romance with his latest fling, had his pacemaker kick in on his ass! His lady friend is a few years older than he is, so he felt his pride demanded he continue till she was through at least... He didn't stop the pumping til the third charge kicked him like a mule. Evidently she felt the charge in her teeth and asked him to stop! He felt like an old man he said, but old girl just said "Honey, you were electrifying" after the incident. They've had several dates since then. Nothing like a redneck girl, I tell you what. True story. EP |
| Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2005-09-16 18:33 |
| #8 Frank as Mr Mom... Okay, works for me, heh. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2005-09-16 18:20 |
| #7 Former high voltage systems guy here. This story is complete and utter bullshit. That is all. Carry on. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2005-09-16 17:29 |
| #6 More Telsa Fun Coils! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-09-16 17:06 |
| #5 take the lampblack out of tires and you would see the same thing with a bike or car. STUFF NEEDS TO CONDUCT - JUST A LITTLE. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-09-16 15:34 |
| #4 220...221...whatever it takes |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-16 15:24 |
| #3 I Dunno, I once walked across a brand new carpet at a just opened restaurant, and threw an inch long spark against the aluminum window frame. I couldn't believe it, But I've played with Van De Graff generators and they throw a full 4 inches so I walked across the carpet again, and this time held a quarter when I neared the window frame, yep, a full inch, like throwing lightning. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2005-09-16 15:03 |
| #2 I'll believe it when I see it reproduced on Mythbusters. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-09-16 14:57 |
| #1 Every girl's crazy 'bout a charged up man... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-09-16 14:13 |