It must be some sort of Australian thing.
Static electricity in man's jacket leads to burns
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A man shocked authorities after he released so much static electricity from his jacket, he left burn marks in the carpet of a business.
Fire officials in Victoria state said the man, Frank Clewer, had built up at least 30,000 volts of static electricity in his jacket simply by walking around the city of Warrnambool, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He received his first shock when he walked into a local business Thursday afternoon. "It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that," Clewer told the ABC.
Burns less than an inch in diameter were left on the carpet where he had been standing, the report said. ABC did not say if Clewer was injured.
Fire officials evacuated the building, fearing the incident might trigger electrical problems, but let Clewer go, the report said.
When he got in his car, Clewer's problems continued.
"I actually scorched a piece of plastic I had on the floor of the car," he said.
Fire officials took Clewer's jacket and said it continued to give off voltage.
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-09-16-static-jacket_x.htm
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 17 September 2005 21:39 (twenty years ago)
Maybe this guy is actually ELECTRO, Mutant Master Of Static Electricity?
― DV (dirtyvicar), Saturday, 17 September 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)
I saw it on some other forum where people were like:
pedant #1: "30,000 volts!? scoff! surely they mean amperes!"
pedant #2: "You are a fool! They mean ohms! Take one physics course!"
pedant #3: "why, the mere act of measuring the static electricity would ground it out!"
pedant #4: "static electricity isn't really static!!!!!!!!"
― Dan I. (Dan I.), Saturday, 17 September 2005 22:07 (twenty years ago)
i think it means the story is from sydney, not staticman
― gem (trisk), Sunday, 18 September 2005 06:03 (twenty years ago)