Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00006)

Thoa,

I'm sure the posthumous recipients of the award you listed were
all worthy, but I would submit the following:

There are many transmission lines that crisscross Connecticut. These
are held up by Transmission Towers of various constructions. Those
most commonly installed near urban areas are called "metal Ornamental
Towers" (supposedly prettier than wood towers).  Sometimes adventurous
folks climb the towers in order to enjoy the view and the night air.
Most stay away from the wires, and when they get bored, come back
down.

Apparently, a man who was forlorn after a recent spat with his girl-
friend needed some fresh air to clear his head and decided to climb a
tower. He stopped for a 6 pack to help clear his thoughts, went to a
tower south of Hartford, next to I-91, and climbed  it.

Public Service employees later pieced the story together. The man sat
there 60 feet above the highway, drank his beer and consoled his bruised
ego. After 5 beers, he needed to do what people often need to do after 5
beers. It being such a long hike down, he unzipped and did his business
right there off the tower.

Electricity is a funny thing. One doesn't need to touch a wire in order
to get shocked. Depending on conditions, 115,000 volt lines,like those
supported by the tower, could shock a person as far away as 6 feet.

When the man "whizzed" near the conductor (wire), the power arced up his
"stream" (urine is an excellent conductor of electricity), traveled up
to his private parts, and blew him off the tower.

The guys at the power company noted a momentary outage on this line and
sent repairmen to see if there was any damage. When they got to the
scene of the accident, they found a very dead person, his fly down, what
was left of his private parts smoking, and a single beer left on top.