Darwin in Action
Electricity plus liquid equals a problem.....but only for a second or two:
- An Indiana man died overnight, after coming into contact with the electrified third rail as he urinated on the Purple Line ‘L’ tracks in Evanston.
The man was at the South Boulevard Purple Line stop around 11 p.m. Sunday with two other people when he came into contact with the third rail, according to CTA spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis.
The man, Zachary McKee, 27, of Ossian, Ind., was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston at 11:52 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
It turned out that the man had climbed down to the tracks to urinate when he fell onto the third rail, according to a news release from the Evanston Police Department.
Authorities have not said whether the man urinated on the third rail.
Aw crap, we thought we had a winner. Now it's "to be investigated" for later. Put the jokes away and save them for another day.
Labels: we got nothing
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
39 Comments:
I dont think if one is standing on the wooden platform,and pisses on the 3rd rail he is grounded. Therefore he is safe Am I right?
"Darwin in Action"
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29 and aday said...
I dont think if one is standing on the wooden platform,and pisses on the 3rd rail he is grounded. Therefore he is safe Am I right?
4/24/2012 12:33:00 AM
Let us know how it works, or we will read about it if not.
You are correct !
Once you experience it, you will become addicted to the intoxicating aroma of electrically fried human flesh.
Rumor has it that the dead guy had an ANOV in his hand written for urinating AFTER he was dead. True or not?
Hey 29 and a day, you just might be correct. Give it a shot and tell us how it works out....if you can.
Uric Acid is a conductor of electricy and if one pees on the third rail the current will travel up the stream and shock the groin, but this individual probably
touched the third rail and the 700 volts of direct current was enough to instantly kill
him.
urinated on the third rail... that would have been good for an ANOV & an Event number. just saying, 701 tact guy!
If he pisses off the platform, his feet may be grounded but he had better hope it isn't a solid stream of piss.
I heard the electricity traveled up his urine stream and his package literally exploded! They said sizzling pieces were all over the hot rail. And, even though he signed to be a donor in case of death, his kidneys could not be used for transplantation because they were vaporized. What a way to go. Ouch.
Actually the Mythbusters looked at this. From standing height, by the time the urine stream reaches the rail, it has broken into individual droplets and thus the pee-er is not actually connected to the rail.
Not gonna test that result myself, though. With my luck I will have crappy surface tension....
Yep, he would be safe -- but it's actually because he's not grounded. (If he were grounded -- imagine that he's balancing himself against a metal post, which is welded to the truss, which goes straight into the ground -- then he'd complete the circuit, which means the current on the third rail would go through him into the earth.)
Mythbusters did this a few years ago, back when they were still good -- even with a bladder-buster, they found that a person's urine stream won't stay continuous all the way to the ground. They were able to close the circuit, but they had to move up to a horse-sized tube.
I dont think if one is standing on the wooden platform,and pisses on the 3rd rail he is grounded. Therefore he is safe Am I right?
------------
It does not matter what you are standing on. Pissing in a "hot"
3rd rail is that same as touching it - - -
only it blows your dick off before you die.
(and let's face it, if the guy was hung like a horse, he'd have been able to pick up chicks just fine back in Indiana, amirite?)
mythbusters did this a while back and showed that the pee stream isn't strong enough to carry electricity.
If he had an elevated iron level in his system due to treat Sickle Cell Anemia. The urine could've caused a closed circuit between the 2nd and 3rd rail that could've created an electrical arc that reached above his Nike's as the urine splattered on his shoes and ankles, thus running massive voltage through his body
This is what happens when you don't pay attention in school.....
Just informed that Myth Busters poo pooed this one. It was an electric fence though, so anything is possible.
I thought, "Myth Busters", disproved that peeing on the third rail can kill you, on one of their shows a while back?
You should die from stupidity for getting down on the tracks, if you don't get hit by a train!
there goes my anov; damit!
It's the same as pissing on an electric fence... Dont do it stupid!
Be careful with the jokes on this one. Not too many years ago a son of a highly respected CPD officer was killed by relieving himself on an "L" platform after his "stream" came into contact with the third rail. A tragic, unfortunate accident that, sadly, occasionlly happens.
Actually, this young man served his country well with 2 tours in Iraq. A poor decision no doubt, but one that we probably in light of the fact that he did serve in a combat zone, a pass on the hilarity.
See June 8 2004 Mythbusters episode.
I love how when some idiot gets himself killed doing something stupid cta and the media quickly put the blame where it belongs on the dumbass. I would love to see the media and the department start doing that to criminals who get them selves shot by the police. Hey gmac how about releasing the offenders latest mugshot during the press conferences instead of just letting the pos's family show 8 grade graduation pics.
....29 and aday said...
I dont think if one is standing on the wooden platform,and pisses on the 3rd rail he is grounded. Therefore he is safe Am I right?.....
Partially so, but in this case he climbed down to track level and fell on the third rail.
You can actually stand on the third rail IF you are NOT touching anything else that is grounded.
CTA trackworkers have done this many times in WORK ZONES to show off to each other, the trick is jumping off and not touching any ground while still on the HOT third rail.
They also wear boots that have INSULATED soles to avoid shock and electrocution.
Electricity will go through liquid (piss - water) as long as there is a steady stream and the subject is grounded.
Myth Busters proved you can not be electrocuted from that distance because your urine comes out in beads and not a continuos stream. See useless TV does pay-off once in a while.
The program "Myth Busters" actually did this. As I remember the program, the results were as follows. A person would have to have a urine stream, much more powerful, than the human body is capable of. An electrical current needs a heavier flow to run up, than the human body is capable of. I hope no one tries to prove them wrong.
Just read about this story. He was a United States Marine that was in town for a Cubs game. Most likely over did it and this unfortunate incident happened. Anyone who works around wrigley knows how drunk those people get during and after the games. I've been there so can't cast stones, but the level of intoxication on a lot of these people is crazy.
"Mythbusters says"...I don't buy it. Far too many people have been killed this way over the years to accept the word of some TV show. There was a famous case in the early 90s of some guy getting zapped in the same manner on the Brown Line.
Not a cop...but former CTA, worked around third rail for years.
This why back in the day when they were using 3rd rail on the Interurban trains you were reminded to
relieve yourself before you started your run because if you stopped your train in the dark and stood in the doorway of the first or last car to relieve yourself, you might get a nasty suprise if your stream hit the electrified rail.
The program "Myth Busters" actually did this. As I remember the program, the results were as follows. A person would have to have a urine stream, much more powerful, than the human body is capable of. An electrical current needs a heavier flow to run up, than the human body is capable of. I hope no one tries to prove them wrong.
4/24/2012 02:59:00 PM
--
You need to re-read the story. It doesn't say the urine stream is what killed him.
Mythbusters buster that one a while back. The urine stream breaks up into droplets and so does not carry a current because it is no longer continuous.
Typical Cub's fan..... I may go to a few more games after Nato....
Anonymous said...
Be careful with the jokes on this one. Not too many years ago a son of a highly respected CPD officer was killed by relieving himself on an "L" platform after his "stream" came into contact with the third rail. A tragic, unfortunate accident that, sadly, occasionlly happens.
4/24/2012 12:33:00 PM
You are correct Sir. And then the city erects one of those bullshit vanity street signs bearing his name in Norwood Park to memorialize his grand act of stupidity. I haven't seen any street signs commemorating Gerald Doll, Jerry Stubig, or Severin and Rizzato anywhere, have you?
"Be careful with the jokes on this one. Not too many years ago a son of a highly respected CPD officer was killed by relieving himself on an "L" platform after his "stream" came into contact with the third rail. A tragic, unfortunate accident that, sadly, occasionlly happens.
4/24/2012 12:33:00 PM"
Try Highly Clouted, Kid was tagging CTA Property on a Rogers Park L stop.The playground in Norwood Park is named after him. Imagine that?
Myth statement Status Notes
Urinating on the electric third rail of a train track can cause electrocution. Busted Since ballistic gelatin has the same electrical resistance as a human body, the MythBusters rigged a dummy with a urination valve and electric release that would trigger with exposure to current. Even wetting the feet and removing shoes failed to trigger the release, due to the urine stream failing to stay laminar and solid enough to complete a circuit. A larger valve failed to create a solid stream, but setting the dummy unrealistically close to the rail finally succeeded. A spinoff of this myth was tested in Myths Revisited. In this episode, the "genitalia" region of the dummy is censored, and no reference is made verbally, instead referring only to the urination process.
This winner is getting national exposure.
4/24/2012 12:33:00 AM
Even if he is on a wooden platform do not assume he is not grounded. Tennis shoes that are saturated with sweat are good conductors. Wet wood is a reasonable conductor, and with the passage of current becomes a better conductor.
High voltage is dangerous no matter whether a person is "isolated from ground" or not, because grounding is not always obvious.
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