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A Shocking Controller For The Xbox

An anonymous reader writes "This is freakin' awesome - Kevin Rose from TechTV has built a 20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller. Imagine playing your friends in Mortal Kombat now... you can actually feel the pain. Seems easy to build and runs about $40 in parts."

77 of 375 comments (clear)

  1. Real Men… by l810c · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will spend an extra $10 and build a testes adapter.

    1. Re:Real Men… by AvantLegion · · Score: 5, Funny
      Will spend an extra $10 and build a testes adapter.

      Interesting vehicle for natural selection. After a few generations, only the strong Mortal Kombat player genes will be left!

    2. Re:Real Men… by Henry+V+.009 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes, I agree it will be a vehicle for natural selection. However, I don't think it will work like you think it will.

    3. Re:Real Men… by WC+as+Kato · · Score: 2, Funny

      I see a need for a tear gas dispenser during fog scenes and I'm not talking about the wimpy consumer protections stuff. I want SWAT riot gear stuff!

      --
      --- I'm Green Hornet's sidekick not Inspector Clouseau's!
    4. Re:Real Men… by Stonent1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Slugheads.com used to have a video clip of a guy taking a stun gun to the scrote. Just standing there with them hanging out and some guy just walks up to him and ZAP. They play the song "I feel good" by James Brown in the background. It's funny as hell but they don't have it on their website anymore. Anyone seen a link for it?

    5. Re:Real Men… by adpowers · · Score: 5, Funny

      http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2002/10/26 /sex_in_games_rezvibrator.html

      It is called the Rez and it is a Japanese game for the play station.

    6. Re:Real Men… by gmarceau · · Score: 4, Informative

      You might be thinking of the award winning Rez' Trance Vibrator for the Playstation 2.

      --
      This post was compiled with `% gec -O`. email me if you need the sources
    7. Re:Real Men… by Stonent1 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, before they zapped him he said, "Another episode of slugheads.com" I just found it. Search for stun gun on kazaa or similar and it's the first one that comes up.

    8. Re:Real Men… by riotous · · Score: 2, Informative

      Nah it was on the PS2 and it was calledRez

    9. Re:Real Men… by LineNoiz · · Score: 5, Funny

      I probably shouldn't tell anyone about this, but what the hell...

      In my younger (and shorter) days, I dared to piss on the electric fence. It wasn't a terribly high voltage or anything. I had grabbed the wire a few times before and it made the muscles in my arm flex and tingle, but that was about it. I passed this fence daily on my way home from school. One day, I was peeing in a field (I think I was out camping...) and I thought about that fence. The electric wire was at about my head level, so I tried to get my arc up and even with my head. When I did, I noticed that at the apogee, the stream broke into many disconnected parts. Seeing that, I thought I would give the electric fence a whiz because I didn't think it would actually zap me. So I told my friends about it (because I was an idiot), and they all came to watch me pee on the fence. I made it about 30 seconds before a totally connected stream hit the wire. I was knocked off my feet, and my balls ached for a week. I pissed all over myself, because I couldn't stop the flow. After that, I couldn't pee for two days. Horrifying experience...

      Remember kids: Don't take a whiz on the electric fence!

      --
      "Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit." --Oscar Wilde
  2. 20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by frieked · · Score: 5, Funny

    This thing has Darwin Award written all over it

    --

    I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
    -Xenocrates
    1. Re:20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by Torgo's+Pizza · · Score: 3, Informative

      Maybe if it was 20,000 amps. Then I'd be worried.

    2. Re:20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      This thing has Darwin Award written all over it

      I think you're disqualified if you don't have any chance of reproducing in the first place.

    3. Re:20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by rlanctot · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is gonna suck if you're playing a game with grampa and accidentally hit him. /wave pacemaker.

    4. Re:20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by sn00ker · · Score: 2, Insightful
      it only takes, what, 1 amp to kill a person
      .1A is enough to disturb the heart's rythm and send you into cardiac arrest. And people with pre-existing heart conditions are, obviously, susceptible to even lower currents.

      --
      "God, root, what is difference?" - Pitr, userfriendly
    5. Re:20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 4, Interesting
      It's actually about 250 mA (1 amp=1000 mA) that will kill you reliably. The progression goes as follows, roughly speaking (obviously, it's somewhat different for everyone):
      • 5-10 mA: possible to feel a tingling sensation
      • 10-25 mA: painful sensation
      • 80-100 mA: local muscles contract or spasm uncontrollably. This makes it nearly impossible to let go of the power line; this is where things start to get life-threatening
      • 220-280 mA: heart goes into fibrillation, causing heart attack
      Voltage is of course unimportant, except insofar as a certain voltage is required to "pull" the current across your body's resistance.
      --

      That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
  3. So.. by dr+ttol · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder what uses women would have with this one since it doesn't virbate..

    1. Re:So.. by jfisherwa · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh, you must not have read the part about the secret remote activator keyfob. Perfect for the girlfriend or wife.

      "You told me a half-hour ago that you would take the trash out as soon as you died." *push* *ZAP!@#!*" .. "But, jus-" *push* *ZZAAAP%$@#!@*

    2. Re:So.. by EverDense · · Score: 3, Funny

      electrical current can acheive an orgasmic effect when applied to the genetalia. That is low
      current, I doubt 20,000 volts would be very pleasurable


      Great, you've just inspired a legion of pimply-never-get-laid-geeks[tm] to hook "themselves" up to
      electric currents.

      On the upside: capacitor and battery sales have gone through the roof.

      --
      http://jesus.everdense.com/
    3. Re:So.. by deadsaijinx* · · Score: 3, Funny

      it may cause sterility, not that that was going to be a problem for most of them ;P

      --
      YOU SUCK BALLS!
  4. photos of it in use?? by Wakkow · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anyone else read the page and think "so where are the pictures of it being tested on someone???"

    1. Re:photos of it in use?? by JofCoRe · · Score: 2, Funny

      Exactly what I thought! I want to see the video of the guy that they give this to to try out. He undoubtedly asks "what're these two little metal things on this controller?", to which the reply of course it "oh, don't worry about it. It's just a slight modification we've made. You'll know soon enough". And then the fun begins :)

      --

      Place sig here.
    2. Re:photos of it in use?? by deadsaijinx* · · Score: 2, Funny

      no, I thought this:

      "Hmmmmmm, that's one way for linux fan boys to keep people from using the 'evil' M$ products! Electrocute the infidels!"

      Then I continued on with my life

      --
      YOU SUCK BALLS!
  5. Where's the innovation here? by Longinus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Imagine playing your friends in Mortal Kombat now... you can actually feel the pain.

    This is nothing new. Playing any recent Mortal Kombat title always pains me greatly.

    1. Re:Where's the innovation here? by buck_wild · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hahaha! That had me chuckling in an otherwise silent office.

      Thanks for allowing everyone to figure out that I wasn't working.

      --
      If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  6. Could this... by konichiwa · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...work as one of those infomercial electro-workout machines? Just imagine it, you can exercise while sitting on your fat ass, eating cheetos and playing XBox.

    Thank you, Bill Gates. Total fitness solution.

    --
    Never argue with an idiot, he'll just lower you to his level and beat you with experience.
  7. Sigh... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    > Kevin Rose from TechTV has built a 20,000-volt shocking Xbox controller. Imagine playing your friends in Mortal Kombat now... you can actually feel the pain.

    Whatever happened to the good old days, when you and your friends just threw dirt clods at each other?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Sigh... by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      someone lost an eye.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  8. Mortal Kombat by weston · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wouldn't this give whoever's playing Rayden a dramatic advantage?

  9. Sounds like the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
  10. A self-fulfilling solution by davidstrauss · · Score: 4, Funny

    At least X-Box gamers will no longer be able to reproduce (not that they stood any significant chance before).

  11. Ouch by chaddarland · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, like the Xbox controller wasn't painful enough already.

    --
    God is dead -- Nietsche

    Nietsche is dead! - God

  12. It doesn't add up by rice_web · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Seems easy to build and runs about $40 in parts."

    And another $10,000 in hospital bills.

    --
    The Political Programmer
  13. Brings... by strateego · · Score: 2, Funny

    This brings a whole new meaning to kicking your ass at video games.

  14. mortal kombat? by skajake · · Score: 2, Funny

    And with 20000 volts flowing through you, you will quite literally be engaged in mortal combat.

    --

    ~ Maintainer of the Skajake Projects

  15. 20000 volts? by gfody · · Score: 2, Funny

    why anybody would want to do this I dunno.. but it would make for a great prank. hmm what are some other candidates for the 20000volt mod..
    my keyboard and mouse for when I'm afk
    my car once the alarm is set
    my zipper for when i'm unconscious

    --

    bite my glorious golden ass.
    1. Re:20000 volts? by randyest · · Score: 4, Informative

      why anybody would want to do this I dunno..

      I read every post and saw several pondering the why question, and like you every one did not mention the obvious answer:

      The purpose (and fun part) is not to shock yourself, but to shock the person with whom you are competing. It's like gambling with pain -- it's a blast to see your friend get zapped, and it's a great motivator to do well if you'll be shocked when you don't, and that's suspense and fear and thrill and excitement, and that's what gaming is all about.

      Remember how much scarier Doom was than Wolfenstein? The tech made the better graphics which made a better (more real) experience. People who don't like to be scared might ask "why would you play a scary game? being scared is uncomfortable!" (actual quote from such a person who I know).

      It's extreme yes, but I think it would very fun (excepting the video game chosen, perhaps, but that's easily changed) assuming 2 controllers are available. It would also be cool to have a bigger range of shock-levels (with both controllers linked to the same control, of course), so players could agree beforehand on shock level (wager) for thier duel (gamble).

      This could also force a more realistic blocking delay. If you arranged the electrodes so that not touching them would make you unable to control your character, you could defend (i.e., not get shocked) by letting go of the stick. You avoid a shock, but you can't move your man, and there's some delay before you can move competently again because you have to re-grip the stick. Very cool.

      I think this is a great idea that could be fairly well-accepted if the available shock voltage range is wide enough. 20kV, even at only 0.002J, seems like a lot for minimum settings.

      --
      everything in moderation
  16. we need an icon for by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    "what are you, an idiot?" stories.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:we need an icon for by Ryan+Stortz · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think we also need "...wtf?" as a mod rating. :)

      --
      Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
  17. This is nothing new by robogun · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bill Gates got you all beat w/ the x-box

    http://www.bbspot.com/News/2001/06/xbox.html

  18. Uh by Andorion · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The current passing through that thing is at MOST 0.02 mA (0.2 J = 0.02 mA x 20 kV). That's weak =)

    ~Berj

    1. Re:Uh by Wakkow · · Score: 5, Funny

      Reading your post made me think of creating a new game:

      TASER TAG!
      "Last one standing, wins!"

    2. Re:Uh by deadsaijinx* · · Score: 2, Funny

      i've played that before. My and my friends got big nine volt batters, some screws, a few capacitators, and some wire. Instant tazer. quite fun.

      in retrospect, i've lived a very foolish childhood

      --
      YOU SUCK BALLS!
  19. Uhhhh.. by poptones · · Score: 4, Funny

    This kid really, really needs to get laid.

  20. One handed typists by buck_wild · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now if only I could rig this up on everyone's keyboard to shock anyone that wants to remove a hand and continue chatting...

    --
    If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  21. Done before? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
  22. WHY? by DarkSarin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can understand the idea of "because I can", that's part of being a geek. But really? I have never understood the whole masochism bent that some people have.

    When I play a game, I want to have a fun, I want to enjoy the game and I don't want distractions. A device that causes pain would in all likely hood decrease one's playing ability, and therefore make the game less enjoyable since you aren't doing as well.

    So unless you are a master of the game, and a handicap is the only way it challenges you, then I don't see the point. Pain in the name of realism is simply a thin veil for masochistic tendencies.

    But on the other hand, if it makes you happy, go ahead. Just be prepared to answer some rather interesting questions about twitching and or burns because you built it wrong.

    --
    "We don't know what we are doing, but we are doing it very carefully,..." Wherry, R.J. Personnel Psychology (1995)
  23. Nice idea, but by Snowspinner · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm guessing Gamespy has already decided on the last 15 entries for their dumbest video game moments.

  24. for half the price.... by wo1verin3 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... you can hire me to come to your house and hold a 9volt battery to your opponents tongue, win or lose.

  25. Holy Christ by WTFmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Funniest part of the whole damn article:

    "Make sure to keep the shocker in one hand! You never want to split the ground/voltage between two hands. If you do, the voltage runs through your heart, which is bad."

    We need more disclaimers like this one...

    1. Re:Holy Christ by Tuxinatorium · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, even a tiny static discharge after rubbing your feet on a carpet can hae a potential difference of up to 20,000 volts. The current is just so low that it's harmless. This is the same thing. Haven't you ever played with a Van de Graaff genetator?

      Don't knock it unless you have the first clue about electricity. Go take Physics 101.

  26. Good but... by heli0 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...I still like this one better: Rez_PS2

    attn: link is NOT work safe

    --
    Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
  27. Tada by Afbc0m · · Score: 2, Funny

    Parents everywhere rejoice as their children stop playing video games overnight due, in other news, children everywhere develope electrical burns on their hands...

  28. Re:Death by XBOX by Squarewav · · Score: 4, Funny

    from the article

    Run two wires (ground/voltage) from the pest shocker into the Xbox controller. I ran mine through one of the front memory sockets. Drill two holes through the controller to the desired location of the shocker.

    Make sure to keep the shocker in one hand! You never want to split the ground/voltage between two hands. If you do, the voltage runs through your heart, which is bad.


  29. You knew it was coming. by Captain+Nitpick · · Score: 5, Funny
    we need an icon for "what are you, an idiot?" stories.

    I nominate SCO's logo.

    --
    But then again, I could be wrong.
  30. Insert obligatory bad jokes here by mrklin · · Score: 2, Funny
    "This behavior is just shocking!"

    "Why, Kevin, I am shocked!"

    "Awwwww shocks."

    "Shock it to ya, baby!"

    (trash talk) "You know what movie I like? That's right - 'Shock-a-lot!'" (Cultural reference: the movie Choclate with Depp and Binoche)

    (to music) "Boom boom, shock-a shock-a, boom boom."

    (to music) "Shock-a khan, shock-a khan.."

  31. Real Idiots? by MikeFM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does anyone else think that using such a sadistic device is the mark of an idiot? Making such a device for your own use is even more stupid.

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
    1. Re:Real Idiots? by cs668 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No,

      I thionk it would be sort of fun. Basically, I think someone closed minded enough to rule it out without trying it wears the mark of an idiot.

      I once played lazer tag and it sucked. I couldn't actually figure out why it sucked it just did. Then I played paint ball and it was awsome. The pain of being hit by a paintball made the whole combat simulation of lazer tag real. I'm not sure if it trigers some sort of fight or flight response, but adding the pain made paintball moch more anjoyable. I imagine that this would have a very simmilar effect on Mortal Kombat.

    2. Re:Real Idiots? by Zirnike · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're missing the point. You give the modified controller to your opponent.

      --
      I'm not shy, I'm stalking my prey
  32. Next Slashdot Story... by Foxxz · · Score: 2, Funny

    XBox Shock Mod Causes Death!

    And if you had a Slashdot subscription you could have seen this article from the future and thus prevented your own death.

  33. License to kill..... yourself. by anon*127.0.0.1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Didn't I already see this in a James Bond movie?

    Okay, maybe it wasn't an XBox.

    --
    I am NOT a man!
    I am a free number!
  34. There's one major error with that... by JadedFAQer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Shocking or not, it's still the same ugly unusable controller. I prefer the hacksaw mod, which reduces the size by half...at least.

  35. From someone who's electrocuted himself many times by seanadams.com · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is just a preemptive response to all the misinformed posts about how many "volts" it takes to kill you.

    It's the AMPS that hurt, not the volts. But it takes VOLTS to overcome your body's resistance. If the current passes across vital organs, it's a different story.

    E=I*R

    Or DEATH = VOLTS / RESISTANCE

    It takes about 100mA, or 0.1A, through the chest cavity to kill you. A couple of amps from one finger to the other will cause extreme damage and pain, but probably will not kill you.

    You can stick your tongue on a 5V, 100A power supply and nothing will happen. You can also put you hand on a tesla coil producing a few KV, and you hair will stand on end but that's it.

    But touch with each hand to a source capable of delivering 1+ KV at 10mA or more, and prepare to be zapped out of your gourd or maybe killed. A common stun gun generates a few KV but it is DESIGNED not deliver enough current (electron movement as opposed to "pressure") to kill. Same goes for this xbox mod - I'd have a go at it. :)

  36. Re:Only 3 easy payments of $9.95! by ColaMan · · Score: 3, Funny

    The eFork is made of the same Space Age material encapsulating the Astronauts!


    eeeewww! skin?

    --

    You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
    There is a lot of hype here.
  37. In other news by DarkHelmet · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's nice. Now all I need is a server that shocks me every time there's a security hole announced in it.

    --
    /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
  38. Re:20,000 volts??? by Chmarr · · Score: 3, Informative

    Electric fences are often around the 10-20 thousand volt range. However, keep in mind that it's not the volatge that kills you, it's the current.

    If that 20,000 volts was unregulated, then yes, it'll kill you, however. The charge (in Columbs) for a electric fense is such that if you short the system through your body, the 20,000 volts goes away VERY quickly, and does not attain then necessary current to cause damage... it just HURTS LIKE BUGGARY.

  39. It's about time by LongJohnStewartMill · · Score: 3, Funny

    Finally, a good reason to let my sister play.

  40. got hit by 2k volts once, not sure the amps. by enigmatichmachine · · Score: 5, Interesting

    about a month ago my roomate came home with 250 9 volt batteries he had gotten free from work becase they only had 8 volts or so in them.. so, of course we strung them end to end and were making little streeks of lightning. it made little balls of plasma on a glass of water, if you put on cable in the water, and the other just above it. fun stuff. Long story short i got a little too close to both contacts, got blown acros the room, as i had an aluminum splinter in my hand, it jumped into my hand, burning me badly there, and then out my wrist on the opposite hand. flew across the room swearing at teh top of my lungs, and then stomped the sht out of the abomination that was 2k volts of batteries. SO I ask you, how many amps would i have been hit by there? I know it was 2k volts, Because we had a volt tester present, but i have no idea the amperage. anyone?

    --
    -and occasionaly a giant moose.
    1. Re:got hit by 2k volts once, not sure the amps. by confused+one · · Score: 2, Informative
      most 9v batteries only rated to produce a max of 50mA continuously; however, the peak (instantaneous) current when shorted could depend on the temperature of the battery, the age of the battery, the amount of charge remaining, the type of battery (nicad's could hit amps easily), etc. It could run to an amp (for a very short duration)

      Most likely you just reacted badly -- typical response is to instinctively jump away from the source of the pain... Try harder to hold still next time : )

      It's also possible that if you were playing with batteries and water, you created some Hydrogen and Oxygen; which you then ignited...

  41. double the voltage by kerb · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...and its perfect for an episode of jackass.

  42. Re:uh.. by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 2, Informative
    I know that voltage is important, but it's the amps that kill you. It doesn't matter how many volts your Tesla coil can deliver, it won't stop your heart if it only puts out a couple of milliamps. Of course, those arcs can cause plasma burns and put you in the hospital, so they're not something to play around with, but it most likely won't stop your heart if you're healthy. The reason that high-tension transmission lines are dangerous is that they carry both really high voltages and really large amounts of current. If you provide a 100,000 volt high-tension line with a 5 Kohm path to ground (through your body, assuming slightly damp skin), it will be more than happy to deliver 20 amps of current; enough to turn you into a nice crispy critter.

    As for getting a high enough voltage to kill a person, it's not that hard. While dry, clean skin has a fairly high resistance (~100Kohms, not millions), any water at all on the skin picks up the salt excreted out of your pores and becomes an excellent conductor right down into those pores and into your body; your cross-body resistance drops to around ~10Kohms. Through the body, resistance is much, much lower (remember that blood, being basically saltwater with cells in it, conducts electricity well). Although the stories about people being killed by 9V multimeters (one probe in each finger measuring their internal resistance) are probably urban legends, doing the same with 120 VAC would almost certainly stop your heart.

    Finally, voltage sources in the thousands of volts aren't that hard to find, even in the average home. The CRT you are probably sitting in front of as you read this runs on about 10,000 volts, and your microwave runs on similar high voltages. While asking either for high enough current to kill you will probably burn them out, they will most likely work long enough to stop your heart.

    --

    That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
  43. Re:First Patent? by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 2, Informative

    Despite what the infomercials say, those things aren't really useful for burning calories or building muscle tone. While they are used in physical therapy, it's more to bring the muscles to a level where the patient can begin to use them for small tasks (like getting an atrophied bicep to lift a few pounds). Daily use builds far more muscle than any TENS machine. Think about it; how is a slight twitching going to help build lots of muscle? If you want to get buffed or lose weight, there's no substitute for exercise.

    --

    That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
  44. I hope that people read the whole thing... by Henry+Stern · · Score: 4, Informative
    Make sure to keep the shocker in one hand! You never want to split the ground/voltage between two hands. If you do, the voltage runs through your heart, which is bad.
    This should have been in 48-point, bold, red, blinking letters. Otherwise, they might find themselves in the soothing blue of www.darwinawards.com. :)
  45. Summary of Electrical Injury by The+Tyro · · Score: 4, Informative

    The most common "low voltage" electrical injuries are some kind of cardiac arrhythmia. The 60-cycle current that is the standard in the United States is just right to cause your heart to fibrillate at fairly low amperages. Presumably this is where the old "don't let the current go across your heart" expression comes from.

    Once your heart is fibrillating, you rapidly lose consciousness, and are in cardiac arrest... just like the 70yo cardiac patient who collapses in your local Wal-Mart. You have about ten minutes to get defibrillated, or receive some kind of CPR before your odds of any kind of recovery are slim-to-none. The sooner you get defibrillated, the better (odds of survival go down roughly 10% per minute of unresuscitated cardiac arrest). What you require is direct-current defibrillation via your nearest AED, or friendly neighborhood EMS agency.

    Now let's talk about high-voltage injury, which can be a bit different. High voltage injuries often cause burns at the entrance and exit site; not unexpected. However, electricity follows the path of least resistance, so any muscle belly inbetween the contact points (full of ions and such to conduct the jolt) is potentially the current's path. Problem is, high voltage will often literally "cook" that muscle belly, causing wholesale cell death and tissue necrosis... a BIG problem if it goes unrecognized.

    Once that dead muscle starts to break down, it releases its component proteins into the bloodstream... myoglobin, CPK etc, a condition called rhabdomyolysis. Those proteins circulate until they reach the kidneys, and that's where the secondary problem begins.

    The kidneys use their Glomeruli to "filter" the blood, and they do it well under normal circumstances. However, when this avalanche of excess protein hits them, the nephrons clog up, causing ATN (acute tubular necrosis), and renal failure. Unfortunately for you, you are now a dialysis paiient. Your kidneys may recover eventually, so you won't necessarily be a 3x/wk dialysis patient forever... but if this ever happens, I promise you you'll never want to repeat the experience.

    There is a way to mitigate this, of course, and it's as simple as recognizing the high voltage injury, and keeping the person's kidneys running at full bore. Yep. That means running massive quantities of fluids into your veins, and watching it come right out of your foley catheter... with diuretic assistance, if necessary (diuretics are drugs that make you urinate).

    Massively-high-voltage injuries, like lightning strikes, are another animal entirely. These injuries are less well-understood (probably due to the difficulty in replicating the phenomenon for study).

    All of these injuries are bad, and I'd highly recommend avoiding them all... otherwise, you may find yourself in the ER with a guy like me standing over you... truly a horrifying experience.

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
  46. Nothing new... by Firestorm_Rising · · Score: 2, Informative

    They had something like this for the Playstation 1 that never really took off. It was in the form of two wristbands. They claimed that the wristbands could add to the ambience of a creepy game by applying a mild but constant shock, as well as punishing you for numerous blunders you might make while playing. Unfortunately, the average video-gamer doesn't usually go out of his or her way (or wallet) to inflict pain upon themselves.

  47. One can't help but wonder by melted · · Score: 2, Funny

    What if your freakin' hands are freakin' wet? :0)

  48. Fucker by DrMorpheus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your post made me laugh so hard I peed my pants.

    --
    Debunking the "59 Deceits"