Man dies urinating near electricity pole, Thai police say

[Reigntax]

He must be really pissed off now!

[mikemac]

Have you ever peed without you index finger on your hardware ?

Why was attention brought to left index finger? Had a dog once pee on an electric outlet Saw an arc from outlet to pecker dog never peed inside again but that only 110 versus 220 here. But judging by photo pole is cement not a conductor unless this guy had 20 inches or was peeing from top of a ladder no way he could of had this happen, so must have leaning on pole to steady himself either or not a good idea.

Some TVF posters would have to use both hands !

[TerrylSky]

Anybody living in Thailand should know that most probably the electric wires are hot and not properly installed and insulated and/or connected. I learned that the hard way and I wasn't even pissing in my kitchen.

[KOZMO]

...even better, punk taggers (graffiti artists) were spray painting their "art"

on an electrical substation in USA---spray paint is an excellent conductor, the taggers were

reduced to burned out crisps.

Same principle.

Am all for it. It takes me 1-2 hours to even PURCHASE spray paint in USA with their

cumbersome and ridiculous laws.

No problem buying spray paint in Florida. You on drugs?????

[Jiggo]

Left handed then....have to use both with my monster lol.......

[mikemac]

Anybody living in Thailand should know that most probably the electric wires are hot and not properly installed and insulated and/or connected. I learned that the hard way and I wasn't even pissing in my kitchen.

You weren't even pissing in your kitchen ? I don't even want to know what made you say that.

I don't care how well electric wiring is installed, how well it is insulated, or whether it is live or not....................I still don't tempt fate and piss on it. Never.

[Jonmarleesco]

Some education, both on the effects of mixing water and electricity, and on the purpose of WCs, wouldn't go amiss in Thailand.

[jobwolf]

Amazing that Thais just don't understand water(piss) and electricity just don't mix. RIP

It said near an electricity pole, just like you

[connda]

The electricity infrastructure amazed me when I first arrived here, and it amazes me still. Poor guy learned a quick, short-lived lesson (squz the pun) in the dynamic properties of electricity (obviously he never watched Bill Nye the Science Guy or Watch Mr. Wizard (my era) on TV, but, errr, this is Thailand 'eh? Poorly grounded high voltage finds shortest, most conductive path to ground. Equals 'cooked' security guard. Funny in a sad sort of way; like dark humor.

RIP

[springheeled jack]

poor man obviously wanted to do his business as well as emptying his bladder, this must have been a tremendous shock to literally fling him so far we have read in the past about dangerous electric poles if the electricians involved cant do the job properly they should get people in who can this is incompetence to the extreme I hope they sort this problem out now ,

[DDbkh]

We all need protecting from ourselves at times ....... If this country started applying proper safety standards incidents like this would become rare.

Yes it could be said he should have been more aware.

Very sad R.I.P Sir.

If this country started applying proper safety standards.... it would lose its essential Thainess and then where would we be?

[sawadee1947]

I reckon the Pole's electric line is faulty. It should not have happened. Poor guy......probably not a good feeling at the "end".

[cmsally]

The wiring doesn't look good.

Understatement of the year

[MiKT]

From the description of lowered trousers and burnt finger it would appear that the poor guy was leaning on the pole to take a pee or even defecate. Because of the extent of his injuries he must have touched a wire or something connected to a 24kV or even the 69kV supply. As this was a construction area it could well have been 69kV. (Crossy may be able to identify the supply from the pole size). Terrible way to go and a salutary lesson to touch absolutely nothing electrical outside in Thailand unless you know for sure the supply is disconnected. Also inside of course.

[bazza40]

Amazing that Thais just don't understand water(piss) and electricity just don't mix. RIP

To be accurate, relatively pure water such as rain is a very poor conductor. I have connected a tester on a fibreglass rod onto a live 500,000V line in pouring rain (a constant stream down the rod and falling from my elbows) without even a tingle. OTOH many failures occur when a long dry/dusty spell is followed by fog/mist/very light rain.

A nurse g/f told me about a retarded patient who used to piss on power outlets intentionally. The difference being that the protection would operate before he was seriously injured/killed.

And to be even more accurate, human urine contains enough salt excreted through the kidneys to be a good electrolyte/conductor.

The reason many electric failures occur after a long dry spell is that the porcelain insulators accumulate salt, which is ubiquitous in nature. Very heavy rain washes the salt away. A light mist of rain converts the salt into an electrolyte, so the current shorts out on the insulator.

[connda]

He was doing something he should not of been doing...

Now that you brought it up: If the victim had been living in the US, his next of kin would eventually be filthy rich from the impending lawsuit, plus some overly moralist producer would want to produce a Made For TV Movie on the dangers of public urination using this as the template for a fictionalize rendition of this unfortunate accident. But in the end, blame the victim, but send some of the royalties to the next of kin for their permission to proceed with filming.

Bad man. Shouldn't pee in public.

"freedom4life" Really? Obviously not to pee in public, 'eh? Lol

[sugarcane24]

What a way to go! I wonder if the sensation is anything like Viagra at the start?

[connda]

Why was attention brought to left index finger? Had a dog once pee on an electric outlet Saw an arc from outlet to pecker dog never peed inside again but that only 110 versus 220 here. But judging by photo pole is cement not a conductor unless this guy had 20 inches or was peeing from top of a ladder no way he could of had this happen, so must have leaning on pole to steady himself either or not a good idea.

110 volts is more dangerous than 220 volts ;

it's because of that it was abolished about 50 years ago in France

It is not the amount of voltage that results in a fatality but the amount of current. Currents between 100 and 200ma are lethal.

But voltage is PRESSURE and the more pressure the more the current that will be able to flow through a given item (in this case urine and the human body). So for dangers of lethal electric shock actually 110V is quite a lot safer. Why we use higher voltage in most of the civilised world is that it is far more efficient to transport through wires as less current is needed for a given wattage of power output. And current causes heat and loss of power in the wire conductors so to eliminate that you need thicker wires for the same power requirement. All simple Ohms law.

Take say 1000 Watt load like a small kettle or an iron say. At 110V that would require a current of 1000/110= about 9 Amps, whereas the same 1000 watt load at 220V would require 1000/220 = about 4.5 Amps of current thus requiring much lighter thinner cable to feed it. So with 110V there is much more risk of cable heated fires than with 220V and thus the need for heavier gauge wiring, but the risk of death by electrocution is far less.

It is why we see voltages like 132,000 V or more on grid power transmission lines often high up on pylons, as a lot of power can be transported with little current needed at these high voltage pressures, so thus the cables can be relatively small gauge for such a massive electrical transmission need. But that high voltage is massive pressure and thus very dangerous and why pylons are so high and usually protected from idiots getting killed. What they want to avoid is lost power in high currents heating the transmission cabling thus higher voltage is used to be more efficient for grid transmission of power. ​

I think what some folk confuse with is that it was the original early DC electrical supply was what was so dangerous and was changed to AC which is easier to generate too of course. With DC it seizes the human muscles meaning you cannot let go of the source of the shock, whereas with AC you are thrown off as the voltage falls and is reversed and the muscles react by immediately reflexing of course.

220V overall is considered the best these days and why 90% of the world use it. There are not many places outside of North America that use 110V nowadays, but it is wrong to say that 220V is safer as it truly is not but it is far more practical as long as safety measures are utilised.

300,000 volts: Hair raising but not deadly.

Caveat: Don't try this at home kids.

[Trujillo]

A reasonable person would never think that a telephone or power pole would be "live."

There is a lawsuit to be won here.

[Doc46]

The only way he could have been a power conductor,, Him having a squirt an leaning against the power pole and he touched a life wire with his hand that was touching/leaning the post,,,,Big court case,,,, Nah no Health and Safety,,,

[rethaier]

Amazing that Thais just don't understand water(piss) and electricity just don't mix. RIP

And there is improper insulation.

[dslocum]

The "Myth Busters" show attempted to debunk this in their "Peeing on the Third Rail" episode. Appears that this scenario is plausible.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/peeing-on-third-rail-minimyth/

[smotherb]

Have you ever peed without you index finger on your hardware ?

Why was attention brought to left index finger? Had a dog once pee on an electric outlet Saw an arc from outlet to pecker dog never peed inside again but that only 110 versus 220 here. But judging by photo pole is cement not a conductor unless this guy had 20 inches or was peeing from top of a ladder no way he could of had this happen, so must have leaning on pole to steady himself either or not a good idea.

Of course, I prefer a lady holding it.

[gandalf12]

The electrical box must be very poor. It would appear to be a public hazard. It is amazing that Thailand allows such dangerous installations. All outdoor boxes (and equipment) should be rated at IP 66 minimum. What would happen if it was raining and a child put their hand on the box? Probably the child would be electrocuted.

[Liquorice]

I blame it on the wind!

[balo]

Thailand lead the statistics when it comes to road deaths caused by motobike accidents.

I think they also lead the statistics over the number of people being electrocuted every year , in the shower, in school, at work , at home and finally outside urinating.

Living in Thailand is no game , I am prepared for the worst every time I step my foot outside the door....

[soalbundy]

Have you ever peed without you index finger on your hardware ?

Why was attention brought to left index finger? Had a dog once pee on an electric outlet Saw an arc from outlet to pecker dog never peed inside again but that only 110 versus 220 here. But judging by photo pole is cement not a conductor unless this guy had 20 inches or was peeing from top of a ladder no way he could of had this happen, so must have leaning on pole to steady himself either or not a good idea.

Of course, I prefer a lady holding it.

you mean a woman, there is a difference between a lady and a woman, you don't find too many ladies here.

[Thongkorn]

Talking about electrocution by penis, When i was a lot younger i worked near a farm, There where cattle in a field surrounded by a small electric fence to keep them in, One day i was talking to the farmer as i got to know him, While chatting we noticed a cow that was grazing quiet close to this electric fence, A bull had taken notice of this cow, The Bull wounded up and tried to mount the cow, pushing it nose first against this Electric fence, The was a blue flash from the bulls balls which made it bellow, it shot off at some pace up the field, We fell about laughing, the next time I saw my Farmer friend i ask about the Bull , He said "The bull had not been near any cow since and was thinking of selling him" because he was not servicing the cows,

[The Deerhunter]

The wiring doesn't look good.

A pretty standard Thai electric wiring job from what I can see.

[geriatrickid]

Have you ever peed without you index finger on your hardware ?

Why was attention brought to left index finger? Had a dog once pee on an electric outlet Saw an arc from outlet to pecker dog never peed inside again but that only 110 versus 220 here. But judging by photo pole is cement not a conductor unless this guy had 20 inches or was peeing from top of a ladder no way he could of had this happen, so must have leaning on pole to steady himself either or not a good idea.

Yes. Many people have more than a few cms and/or good hygiene and/or sufficient co-ordination to not have to hold the penis. Others are blessed with anatomy that allows a clear shot. I went to university with a Dutch guy that was able to make smiley faces in the snow. A true artist. If he had consumed enough beer, he could even add !!!, although in hindsight, they might have been run off dribble. As 19 year olds, we were very impressed by his artistic skills. He was our very own Van Gogh, except he had both his ears and was always happy.