A cautionary tale about respecting electricity from Horace Jeffery Hodges — and note that this mishap was blamed on Willie Wirehand, not Reddy Kilowatt! ;-)…

Although I managed to maneuver the plug’s prongs into the extension’s outlet, a spark of electricity briefly illuminated the night, and I dropped the two cords in alarm without completing the connection. But we didn’t hear them fall to the ground, and I realized that they were linked and hanging somewhere in the darkness before me.

I went groping for them and closed my right hand directly on the bare prongs. A wave of power surged through my body, I saw more light than I had ever seen, and I screamed. Another wave and light. I screamed again. A third time. I screamed and collapsed, breaking the circuit.