The Jokes thread

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
9,744
The first apartment I lived in had a phone jack in the bathroom. I found it to be quite useful, particularly since I liked taking long soaks in hot water and since my Dad and I would sometimes talk on the phone for an hour or two.
A number of decades ago I was under the house wiring in some phone jacks for Mom. Laying on my back I could feel a fairly strong tingle when I touched - I think it was - the TIP line (not the RING). Anyway, one of those was giving me a shock. I had the idea to try and tap into that for power. Hey! I was a kid. Had to be maybe 12 years old at the time.

I would have been concerned for the possibility of dropping the receiver in the water and discovering an unpleasant experience. Also read this on the internet several years ago, a young girl was on her cell phone while in the tub. She also had the charger plugged into the phone. Now, because it was on the internet It Must Be True! Anyway, we've had some discussions about the possibility of a cheap phone charger that was not properly grounded and allowed lines voltage. In the story the girl died as a result. No, I don't want to test that theory. And there's no need to go into that old diatribe about the story. Real or fake - - - who knows. But I DO know I felt a steady shock when touching one of those wires. And I was laying on my back fully dressed on cold dirt. Imagine if I had been wet or grounded.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
32,883
A number of decades ago I was under the house wiring in some phone jacks for Mom. Laying on my back I could feel a fairly strong tingle when I touched - I think it was - the TIP line (not the RING). Anyway, one of those was giving me a shock. I had the idea to try and tap into that for power. Hey! I was a kid. Had to be maybe 12 years old at the time.

I would have been concerned for the possibility of dropping the receiver in the water and discovering an unpleasant experience. Also read this on the internet several years ago, a young girl was on her cell phone while in the tub. She also had the charger plugged into the phone. Now, because it was on the internet It Must Be True! Anyway, we've had some discussions about the possibility of a cheap phone charger that was not properly grounded and allowed lines voltage. In the story the girl died as a result. No, I don't want to test that theory. And there's no need to go into that old diatribe about the story. Real or fake - - - who knows. But I DO know I felt a steady shock when touching one of those wires. And I was laying on my back fully dressed on cold dirt. Imagine if I had been wet or grounded.
Traditional landline phones can only deliver about 20 mA (IIRC) of current, so the risk is pretty small.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,775
If everyone in the world joined hands around the equator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two thirds of them would get wet!
Earth's circumference: 40,075 km
Average human height: 1.65m
Current world population: 8,121,000,000

Assuming that a human is as wide as it is tall, the total length of all humans holding hands, in kilometers is 13,399,650
And dividing by the earth's circumference, we get a little over 334 loops around the earth, of said human chain.

Assuming a personal space of 2 meters per loop, a "human ribbon" about 6 blocks wide would be formed around the earth.

Very interesting ... and completely useless information. :)
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
32,883
Earth's circumference: 40,075 km
Average human height: 1.65m
Current world population: 8,121,000,000

Assuming that a human is as wide as it is tall, the total length of all humans holding hands, in kilometers is 13,399,650
And dividing by the earth's circumference, we get a little over 334 loops around the earth, of said human chain.
And two-thirds of them would get wet.

Actually, I got curious and downloaded a world map and, as best I can tell, right at 79% of them would get wet.
 

Darkstar

Joined Sep 3, 2010
182
A blonde was heard saying "Golly, I don't understand computers. They say no matter how much data you put in them they never get any heavier. So Strange."

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