Urban Legend Realized

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -line.html

A tourist who relieved himself over a live railway line at a south London station was electrocuted.

ouch , even if you wernt killed , theyd be some serious burns in some sensitive places .

I wonder if he was grounded, as I always assumed that you had to be to be electrocuted. Wet platform from his pee or rain maybe ? Gee wizz !

Maybe he got off easy... If the Bobbies caught him doing that ... God knows...

It may be a good lesson to those who urinate in the Subway. You mever know where the 600 volt cables run.

3rdrail wrote:I wonder if he was grounded, as I always assumed that you had to be to be electrocuted. Wet platform from his pee or rain maybe ? Gee wizz !

He must have been holding onto something steel perhaps . or leaning against a steel pole . Otherwise the current path would be through his lower 1/2 of the body , which probably wouldnt stop the heart . the shock and the burns may be enough to kill him eventually , but it sounds like they found him fairly quickly .But if its wet then all bets are off , everythings a adanger around electricity .

David Benton wrote:He must have been holding onto something steel perhaps . or leaning against a steel pole . Otherwise the current path would be through his lower 1/2 of the body , which probably wouldnt stop the heart .

My electrical knowledge is minimal, but I thought that without being grounded, that his entire body would be energized, but that since there wasn't a sufficient power drop in such an instance that it would not affect him adversely. In any event, I don't believe that in any instance that there would be the localization of current restricted to his lower body that you speak about. I wouldn't be surprised if he was propping himself up by holding onto something metal, or standing in a pool of rain or his own urination. With all due respect for the deceased and the pain that he must have endured, it must have been something to see ! I wonder also if the "urban legend" was truely realized, in that if he were grounded as described, did that still fit the criteria of the legend, or is the legend defined as peeing on the third rail from a platform without ground ?

electricity takes the path of least resistance . there will be an entry point (pretty obvious in this case ! ) and a exit point . usually down through the feet . there would be severe burning between those points . possibly bad enough to cause enough trauma to stop the heart , but it wouldnt be stopped by electrcitity . though i quess it could have traveled up his arm as well . the worst ones are when the path is through one arm to the other ,or down to the legs , these would go near the heart and cause it to stop .

I gather the pisser was a Pole. There are probably no third rail tracks in Poland, so he wasn't aware of the track - but few people actually notice the track.

It's not the only case. There was another in Dorset a few years ago when the newly electrified line to Weymouth had a victim.

hopefully they dont have to plaster danger signs everywhere its concieveably possible to piss on the 3rd rail now .

"NOTICE: When taking a pee, turn away from the tracks!!" or "Dangling your dingle may get you a tingle!!"

"don't use the train as a drain " .

though to be fair , the lack of toilets at stations can find you caught short , especially after a nite on the turps .

I know about experiments that have shown it is impossible to become eletrocuting by peeing on a third rail with <1250V= if there is a normal distance. (Maybe if someone knees in front of the rail and pees he will die...)
And the newspaper ist Daily Mail. So I believe this is a "Ente" as we say in Germany.

Thomas I wrote:I know about experiments that have shown it is impossible to become eletrocuting by peeing on a third rail with >1250V= if there is a normal distance. (Maybe if someone knees in front of the rail and pees he will die...)
And the newspaper ist Daily Mail. So I believe this is a "Ente" as we say in Germany.

So, it's theoretically impossible - but he's still dead? Back to the drawing board.
http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/160928

There are many factors as to wether someone will get electrocuted or not . sometimes quite a low voltage can kill , other times people survive contact with an an amazingly high voltage .

george matthews wrote:

Thomas I wrote:I know about experiments that have shown it is impossible to become eletrocuting by peeing on a third rail with >1250V= if there is a normal distance. (Maybe if someone knees in front of the rail and pees he will die...)
And the newspaper ist Daily Mail. So I believe this is a "Ente" as we say in Germany.

So, it's theoretically impossible - but he's still dead? Back to the drawing board.
http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/160928

Everthing the newspapers tells is true?
I believe it is a hoax.
When a man pees it maybe looks like a jet but in reality it is nothing more as a succession of drops if it reaches the ground.
And no DC voltage below 1250V= is able to use this succession of drops as "cable".
And if someone dont believe me, look this: MythBusters, Discovery Channel, "Barrel of Bricks, Urinating on the Third Rail, Eel Skin Wallet", Season One, Episode 3 (October 10, 2003).

This Polish Teacher ist the Joseph Patrick O'Malley of London...