Expert Traces Path of Blackout Surge

Scrappleface ^ | August 16, 2003 | Scott Ott

[Cathryn Crawford]

Expert Traces Path of Blackout Surge

(2003-08-16) -- An electricity industry expert has traced the path of this week's blackout surge which left some 50 million North Americans without power.

Dr. Reuben Goldberg, who heads the North American Electric Reliability Council, mapped the course of the blackout for journalists at a news conference this morning.

The problem apparently started, according to Dr. Goldberg, in an Ohio automobile plant, where an autoworker eating lunch squirted some mayonnaise from his bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich onto the floor at 3:37 p.m. on Thursday.

A janitor noticing the spill at 3:48 p.m. fetched a mop and began to swab the floor. While backing up to mop his own tracks from the floor, the janitor accidentally stabbed the butt of the mop handle through a plate glass window which triggered the factory's security alarm.

The sudden blare of the alarm startled a large rat which was traversing a cable above one of the plants power transformers. The rat fell across two high-voltage lines, causing the the transformer to short circuit then explode. Results of the autopsy on the rat were inconclusive as to cause of death given the proximity of the jolt to the blast.

The explosion rocked a nearby vending machine, toppling a half-empty can of Mountain Dew which a careless worker had left atop the machine. The sticky sweet fluid ran down the wall and bridged the prongs of the vending machine's plug, causing another short circuit and a brief power surge which blew out several light bulbs including one above the head of the worker who had originally spilled the mayonnaise. He is the plant electrician.

As he staggered about his work station feeling for a flashlight, his elbow inadvertently bumped a lever which controls the flow of power to assembly line number three. The line stopped with a jerk, causing another autoworker to drop a rather large pneumatic wrench on his foot.

Just that morning, the employee had accidentally dumped a full cup of coffee into his left steel-toed boot, forcing him to come to work in ordinary hiking boots. The impact of the wrench on his great toe caused him to bend at the waist suddenly. His head smote the side-view mirror of the car upon which he had been working.

His supervisor, noticing that one of his men was down, pressed a button which alerted the plant's medical staff to the emergency situation on line three.

As the medical staff scrambled to aide the fallen autoworker, said Dr. Goldberg, three high-voltage transmission lines elsewhere in Ohio probably failed inexplicably causing a domino-effect shutdown of the power grid across the United States.

"As you can see," he added. "It was a simple cause-and-effect situation. We're addressing it by developing new lunch regulations regarding condiments on sandwiches."

[Cathryn Crawford]

Hey, look, everybody - breaking news! :-)

[jocon307]

"The impact of the wrench on his great toe caused him to bend at the waist suddenly. His head smote the side-view mirror of the car upon which he had been working."

Great toe, smote, I love the language!

[Scenic Sounds]

People are gonna find this hard to believe, Cathryn, but things like this have happened before. ;-)

[shaggy eel]

The sudden blare of the alarm startled a large rat which was traversing a cable above one of the plants power transformers. The rat fell across two high-voltage lines, causing the the transformer to short circuit then explode. Results of the autopsy on the rat were inconclusive as to cause of death given the proximity of the jolt to the blast.

,,, Hillary's dead?!!!!!!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I have already proven (on another thread) that I, PaMom, single handedly spared the power for this great Commonwealth. Friday morning, I unplugged our 30-something year old, hand me down refridgerator (kept in our garage for extra beverages) to defrost it. That's what did it. Providence. Whoever put the watermelon carcass (that I had ever so artfully cut into the shape of a basket) into that fridge (two weekends ago) set into motion the cleaning job that spared the power for my fellow Pennsylvanians. Wow...

[Cathryn Crawford]

You are to be revered as a saint! :-)

[Consort]

That's the way I had it figured.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I try...

Btw...the fridge is so old, it had these really great aluminum (sp?)ice cube trays and glass (pre-plastic) food boxes. My hubby just caught on that I am talking about my energy conservation on Friday...he says it is more like 40 years old...(got it from his aunt when we first married)...

[Iscool]

Something very similar happened at the company where I work a few years ago...Started out with a broken sprinkler head on the front lawn that got run over by a fella on the lawn maintenance crew...The broken sprinkler caused a tire to blow on the lawn tractor and when it veered to the right where the HR lady was coming up the sidewalk trying to figure out how she was going to get the rest of the bagel in her mouth before she hit the front door~~~~~~

Well, before it was all over the Mississippi was over-running it's banks and we dog gone near lost New Orleans...

[Chad Fairbanks]

It could happen.

[Cathryn Crawford]

I know it.

BTW - you're linked at my blog. :-)

http://cathryncrawford.blogspot.com

[Chad Fairbanks]

Dang it. I guess that means I gotta update teh darn thing, doesn't it?

[Cathryn Crawford]

Yes, it does!

[Chad Fairbanks]

Alright... I suppose I'll get to it, tonight or tomorrow - gotta add some links to some FReeper Blogs too while I'm at it..

I've been too busy playing with my new toy - a Sont Digital Video Camera - now I'm dangerous bwaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa

[Cathryn Crawford]

I want a digital camera. I love photography, but it's one of those expensive hobbies. LOL

[Chad Fairbanks]

I carry it with me everywhere I go, hoping to be there when someone is doing something incredibly stupid, and ultimately painful...

THAT is my hobby... ;0)

[hocndoc]

I'm not quite the rube that Dr. Goldberg would like to believe that I am.

[Cathryn Crawford]

You're so bad. :-)

[Chad Fairbanks]

Yeah ;0)