Darwin Alert: Man dies hooking jumper cables to electric pole

Detroit News ^ | 2/5/02

[11th Earl of Mar]

DETROIT -- Police are investigating the death of a man who was electrocuted when he attempted to illegally attach car jumper cables to an electrical transformer on a utility pole to a generator inside a vacant house where he was staying, police said.

[aomagrat]

Shocking

[11th Earl of Mar]

There was an article posted yesterday claiming that the evolutionary process of natural selection is finished for the human species.

I think this article shows us that the process is still going on.

[Rebelbase]

< Jim Cary voice > Smok'in! </Jim Cary voice>

[SlickWillard]

Are not car jumper cables designed to host direct current? The last I heard, the Mr. Tesla had convinced all the utilities to push alternating current.

[ladtx]

What a loss. He had such a sparkling personality.

[Revolting cat!]

Inside the vacant home was a generator, a mattress, blankets and several cans of soup.

C'mon folks, let's accentuate the positive! Did the soup get hot?

[boomop1]

The wires don't care if it's AC or DC.

[steve50]

Or one could argue the evolution process has, in fact, reversed.

[Spook86]

Outstanding Darwin Award nominee--and it's only the 5th of Bebruary!

[CharlieDarwin]

Unfortunately, this Darwin Alert comes too late...the man was 51 years old and had probably already passed on his defective genes to progeny. Much better for the gene pool when a 12 year old does it.

Meanwhile, everybody be on the alert for this man's progeny...not the best kids to "hang with".

[hopespringseternal]

Are not car jumper cables designed to host direct current?

DC vs AC isn't the problem.

The problem is that car jumper cables are designed around 12 volts and high amperage. If he hooked on to the wrong spots, he would be tapped into several thousand volts. The insulation on the clamps wouldn't even be (safely) sufficient for household voltages.

[Poohbah]

There was an incident in San Fran about five years ago...a homeless man was walking on the BART right-of-way when he answered nature's call...and urinated on the third rail.

The police were baffled by a dead man with an open fly and severely burned genitals lying next to the tracks...

[SpottedBeaver]

Tesla was the one pushing DC. He lost that battle and the electric companies went with AC, which was pushed by Edison.

And, yeah, the wires don't really matter. This guy was just playing with the wrong wiring in the head.

[_Jim]

Are not car jumper cables designed to host direct current?

It sounds like this moron was hooking up to the primary of said electrical transformer on a utility pole -

- the primary lines feeding the local step-down transformers normally carry enough voltage to 'punch through' the minimal insulation on the handles/clips of most jumper cables ...

[FreedomPoster]

That would be "devolution". As in "Are We Not Men? We are DEVO. D-E-V-O." Some of the best advertising geniuses to hit rock-n-roll.

[r9etb]

Tesla was the one pushing DC. He lost that battle and the electric companies went with AC, which was pushed by Edison.

Just the opposite, in fact. Edison thought that AC was useless. Tesla demonstrated otherwise.

[Iris7]

Sorry, you've got it backwards.

[Ramius]

Tesla was the one pushing DC.

Actually, I think you are thinking of the big fracas between Edison and Westinghouse, not Tesla. I don't think Tesla was in that fight, or if so, not till later.