Not an urban myth

[DeanC]

Authorities believe Wash. man electrocuted by urinating on downed power line after car crash

MONTESANO, Wash. - Authorities believe a Washington man was killed by accidentally urinating on a downed power line after a car crash.

Grays Harbor County sheriff's Deputy Dave Pimentel said Monday 50-year-old Roy Messenger was not seriously hurt after he collided with a power pole Friday and called a relative to pull his car from a ditch.

However, family members found Messenger electrocuted when they arrived.

Pimentel says Messenger apparently urinated into a roadside ditch but didn't see the live wire. The urine stream likely served as a conductor, allowing the electricity to reach his body.

Pimentel says there will be an autopsy but burn marks indicated the way the electricity traveled through Messenger's body.

Insert lame "Messenger" joke here ->

[Stradawhovious]

Didn't Mythbusters debunk this sort of thing on more than one occaision?

[scout]

Didn't Mythbusters debunk this sort of thing on more than one occaision?

I remember watching the guys on jacka** pissing on an electric fence, sure looked real to me... OUCH

wouldn't do it, wouldn't be prudent...

[mitchx3]

Didn't Mythbusters debunk this sort of thing on more than one occaision?

Mythbusters doesn't debunk things, they pretend to do science and claim to debunk things.

[selurcspi]

During Basic Electrics in the Navy we were shown a short video of the things that had killed some of our (not so bright) predecessors.
A couple of them involved pissing on things electrical that were either unnoticed (the individual was blind drunk), or not considered, sweaty hands working in live cabinets, touching large un-discharged capacitors etc.

The blind drunk individuals both p*$$ed on 440volt 3 Phase cables (about 4” around per phase) that provide power to the whole ship while in port. One of the two was fried KFC crispy and died there and then while the other had half of his legs burned off and his wedding tackle literally exploded in instant flame and burned off into nothingness all the way to the bladder. While he lived to tell the tale, I’m sure it wasn’t a good life, by anyone’s standards.

Have respect for all things electrical!

[mitchx3]

Have respect for all things electrical!

They'd be fine if they just made sure the stream crossed a good ground before hitting the wire.

[Ironbear]

Have respect for all things electrical!

They'd be fine if they just made sure the stream crossed a good ground before hitting the wire.

Nope, they'd merely be the high impedance leg of parallel paths to ground. Better perhaps, but not necessarily fine.

[1911fan]

A friend who owned a bar up nordeast had issues with clientele using the back wall of the bar in the parking lot as that one last pee before driving home. So he got one of the steel grate foot mats and stuck it in the appropriate place and wired that into a hotfence controller. set on about 1 second pulses. worked really well I am told.

[mitchx3]

Now I need to experimentally determine the resistance of urine per length and how it varies due to diet. Another project, just what I need.

[westberg]

What about the velocity of the stream and angle of the stream vs angle of sight? Also does dribbling over your shoes help, ttousi told me to ask this part of the question.

[RobD]

Didn't Mythbusters debunk this sort of thing on more than one occaision?

Mythbusters doesn't debunk things, they pretend to do science and claim to debunk things.

so true. Since when can college dropouts with experience in special affects qualify as (self proclaimed) scientists. They tested peeing on a low-voltage low-amped electric fence, and an old rail.

There were a few visiable flaws. Their test dummy had a thin, gravity fed stream that broke up a few inches on exit. Not exactly an accurate test.

I'd like to see Adam Savage try to personally debunk this article.

[nyffman]

The blind drunk individuals...........................

There's the key not mentioned in Dean's story.

[Pinnacle]

Try about 4000V AC and tell me how that works out for you.

[mnglocker]

Have respect for all things electrical!

They'd be fine if they just made sure the stream crossed a good ground before hitting the wire.

Nope, they'd merely be the high impedance leg of parallel paths to ground. Better perhaps, but not necessarily fine.

Exactly. With the kind of voltage and current the highlines carry.... uch:

[rtk]

What about the velocity of the stream and angle of the stream vs angle of sight? Also does dribbling over your shoes help, ttousi told me to ask this part of the question.