If you lick a cellphone...

[Plotinus]

You people are all insane. I've never felt the slightest inclination to lick either a frog or a battery, let alone a telephone.

I was watching some concert footage of Howlin' Wolf the other day in which he licked his guitar, which I thought most unwise - Keith Relf was electrocuted by an electric guitar! What a rock and roll way to go. A shame he was just at home practising, as that would have been quite a concert.

 

[Ayatollah So]

cgannon, you've got to stop calling those 1-900 numbers. Then you might not be tempted to lick your cellphone

 

[Mise]

You people are all insane. I've never felt the slightest inclination to lick either a frog or a battery, let alone a telephone.

I was watching some concert footage of Howlin' Wolf the other day in which he licked his guitar, which I thought most unwise - Keith Relf was electrocuted by an electric guitar! What a rock and roll way to go. A shame he was just at home practising, as that would have been quite a concert.

What the hell was he licking to get electrocuted by a guitar? The only part I can think of is the lead between the guitar and the amp, and it's pretty hard to look cool playing a guitar and licking the lead, not to mention it probably wouldn't hurt that much. He probably looked like a spazz, and pretended to die because he lost all street cred.

Anyway, all this talk about licking electrified things is causing the resurfacing of my self-destructive nature...

 

[cgannon64]

Anyway, all this talk about licking electrified things is causing the resurfacing of my self-destructive nature...

Hey, "Self-improvment is masturbation."

 

[Plotinus]

[Mise] I might have explained it slightly confusingly. The Wolfman was licking the neck of the guitar in a rather homoerotic sort of a way, but not whilst playing it. Relf, however, was actually playing his guitar in the normal way, as far as I know, but had somehow wired it up wrongly so that when he touched the strings he earthed the current through himself. Net result: a pair of smoking shoes on the carpet and the biggest twang chord in history.

 

[Mise]

[Mise] I might have explained it slightly confusingly. The Wolfman was licking the neck of the guitar in a rather homoerotic sort of a way, but not whilst playing it. Relf, however, was actually playing his guitar in the normal way, as far as I know, but had somehow wired it up wrongly so that when he touched the strings he earthed the current through himself. Net result: a pair of smoking shoes on the carpet and the biggest twang chord in history.

Not sure how this could happen. On a normal guitar, the strings themselves aren't connected to any electricity. Cheap guitars have little microphones under the strings (they basically amplify the sound), whereas proper expensive guitars use the motion of the metal strings (which produce a magnetic field) to produce an electric signal. No part of the strings are ever connected to a power supply, and in all honesty, unless Relf really really wanted to electrocute himself, I doubt if he could have wired it THAT wrong by accident!

Sounds like I have a new project

 

[nonconformist]

He could have licked the pickups

 

[The Last Conformist]

Sounds like I have a new project

Mise's life has now found a new meaning - finding out how to kill yourself by licking an electric guitar.

 

[nonconformist]

Mise's life has now found a new meaning - finding out how to kill yourself by licking an electric guitar.

Not before me!

*Starts chewing guitar*.

 

[Mise]

Well, I licked the pickups, and it just sort of tasted bad... I'm not really sure if there's much current going through the pickups. I think the current would be generated by the pickups internally (i.e. not on the outside of the pickups, but on the inside), and this would be very small (that's what the amp is for).

Seriously, this Relf guy must be very very dumb or very very clever to kill himself by touching the strings...

 

[stratego]

Cgannon, I suggest you put LiOH (Lithium Hydroxide-a very strong base) on your tongue and lick the cell phone again. If it hurts less, it must be acid (acid-base reaction neutralizes). If it hurts more, it must be electricity (strong base is a strong conductor). Try it several times, each with a more diluted LiOH solution, just incase it's a vicious combination of both (so you can see how much of each it is). If your friends battery runs out, find a new friend with a new battery.
Also can you post the results from your finding.

 

[mabellino]

And I suggest you don't do this... LiOH is extremely toxic by inhalation and pretty much every other route into the human body. It will also burn your tongue (like in Fight Club)

But there's no arguing with the kind of mentallity that makes "this product may contain nuts" warnings appear on a bag of peanuts!

Those 9V batteries really hurt btw!!!

 

[stratego]

Do it. mabellino's post has a funny smilie "", while mine doesn't. Who are you going to trust?

 

[CivCynic]

As a science lesson for CFC, cgannon64 should experiment with the LiOH and (if he can access the internet at the hospital) should report back to us when he has confirmed his results.

[cgannon64] May God be with you and (I say this beforehand) R.I.P. Good luck...

 

[RoddyVR]

i too advocate that he try the putting LiOH on his toung. at the very least it will provide a story for those "wierd story about a realy dumb person" news briefs in the newspapers and on the web.
and at most, i could later say that i know how "base man"(arch enemy of Acid Man) was created. lol

 

[Manverulin]

Wow, this is all oh so very interesting. Yay cellphone licking! There should be like a cellphone licking club here. I'd join it. It would last longer than that worn-out shoe club or whatever.

 

[WillJ]

Hmm, I should start a cellphone-licking club at school....

 

[ManOfMiracles]

Can we have a club for 9V battery licking too since I don't have (and don't want!) a cellphone?

 

[CurtSibling]

@Gannon:

You do know that people who lick cellphones always graduate onto licking electricity sockets?

I am eager for your graduation!

 

[Aphex_Twin]

For a more conservative America, an 11th commandment:

"Thou shalt not place thy's tongue on thy's or thy neighbour's cellphone"