Cell phone electrocution

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:29:36 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html

Natural selection ?>:-}

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I'm looking for work... see my website.

Thinking outside the box... producing elegant solutions.

 

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 8:39:14 AM UTC-7, Jim Thompson wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:29:36 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html

Natural selection ?>:-}

...Jim Thompson

A bit harsh perhaps. What teenager expects to die just reaching for her cell phone..?

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I thought chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has 110V also... hmm...

Michael

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:37:08 -0700, mrdarrett wrote:

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I thought
chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has 110V also...
hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway) but
the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural resistance
and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the body.
That was just asking for trouble.

 

[Mike Easter]

Cursitor Doom wrote:

mrdarrett wrote:

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I
thought chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has
110V also... hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway)
but the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural
resistance and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the
body.
That was just asking for trouble.

I'm trying to imagine how the 110 ac to the charger is supposed to get
to the phone she was holding or dropped into the water.

The current in the wire to the phone is 5v DC. Unless something is
seriously outawhack.

There seem to be details missing of all the reports through the years of
people being electrocuted in association with cell phone usage. There
have been fake stories, snopes debunkings, and allegedly true reports.
This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.


--
Mike Easter

 

[amdx]

On 7/11/2017 11:51 AM, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:37:08 -0700, mrdarrett wrote:


Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I thought
chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has 110V also...
hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway) but
the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural resistance
and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the body.
That was just asking for trouble.

I once heard a TV talk show host say stay OFF your cellphone during a
lightning storm.
I'll take my chances!
I also don't talk on my flip phone while it's charging.

Mikek

 

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 10:06:24 AM UTC-7, Mike Easter wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote:
mrdarrett wrote:

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I
thought chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has
110V also... hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway)
but the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural
resistance and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the
body.
That was just asking for trouble.

I'm trying to imagine how the 110 ac to the charger is supposed to get
to the phone she was holding or dropped into the water.

The current in the wire to the phone is 5v DC. Unless something is
seriously outawhack.

There seem to be details missing of all the reports through the years of
people being electrocuted in association with cell phone usage. There
have been fake stories, snopes debunkings, and allegedly true reports.
This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.


--
Mike Easter

I'm wondering too (that's why I posted it here). Unless she had an extension cord and accidentally dropped the end of it into her bath, I'm trying to understand the mechanism of shock.

While I was in the Philippines, which has 220V, I got shocked just touching the screen of my laptop when it was plugged in. I also got shocked from touching the ground of the headphone jack. It was just an unpleasant sensation, nothing serious. Bad ground, maybe?

Michael

 

[Mike Easter]

mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

While I was in the Philippines, which has 220V, I got shocked just
touching the screen of my laptop when it was plugged in. I also got
shocked from touching the ground of the headphone jack. It was just
an unpleasant sensation, nothing serious. Bad ground, maybe?

Yes to the ground issue.

--
Mike Easter

 

[Mike Easter]

Mike Easter wrote:

This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.

Lovington is ~ 50 mi SW of Lubbock TX and is pop ~9000. It is also Lea
Co. which is pop 64k.

My personal theory so far is that the phone/charger wasn't actually the
cause of death/electrocution. The family particularly grandmother has
'decided'/chosen to present it - her theory - that way.

--
Mike Easter

 

[Mike Easter]

Mike Easter wrote:

My personal theory so far is that the phone/charger wasn't actually the
cause of death/electrocution.

OK, how about this one. She was holding the phone which was plugged
into the charger and she was wetly plugging in the charger to the nearby
wall outlet which was NOT GFI/ed.

OR she was similarly plugging in the charger to a nearby electrical
extension cord similarly plugged into a non-GFI wall outlet. I prefer
the former above because it can be done one-handed.

She would be getting the juice from the mains, pretty much unrelated to
the phone except that its function was the purpose of her mission.

--
Mike Easter

 

[default]

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 10:06:16 -0700, Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid>
wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote:
mrdarrett wrote:

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I
thought chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has
110V also... hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway)
but the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural
resistance and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the
body.
That was just asking for trouble.

I'm trying to imagine how the 110 ac to the charger is supposed to get
to the phone she was holding or dropped into the water.

The current in the wire to the phone is 5v DC. Unless something is
seriously outawhack.

There seem to be details missing of all the reports through the years of
people being electrocuted in association with cell phone usage. There
have been fake stories, snopes debunkings, and allegedly true reports.
This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.

Presumably the charger is isolated, but may have gotten wet and had
120 VAC on the 5V output. There are supposed to be GFI protected
outlets in the bathrooms.

 

[Phil Allison]

Cursitor Doom wrote:

-------------------------

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I thought
chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has 110V also...
hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway) but
the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural resistance
and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the body.
That was just asking for trouble.

** IMO either the charger had a dangerous fault that put 120VAC on the output jack OR it fell into bath tub - so the soapy water bridged the insulation barrier.

Typical mobile phone chargers are pretty much water proof, maybe this one was not.


..... Phil

 

[Helmut Wabnig]

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:29:36 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html

USA has the lowest electrical safety standards worldwide,
equivalent to Bangla Desh, Ahghanistan and Iraq war zones:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/08/02/128936546/iraq-an-electrician-s-nightmare


w.

 

[Bill Gill]

On 7/11/2017 12:22 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 10:06:24 AM UTC-7, Mike Easter wrote:
Cursitor Doom wrote:
mrdarrett wrote:

Sure, charging a phone in the bathroom isn't recommended, but I
thought chargers were better designed than this. Texas only has
110V also... hmm...

110V doesn't sound much (not from where I am where it's 240V anyway)
but the water's the killer here. It neutralises the skin's natural
resistance and permits lethal levels of current to flow through the
body.
That was just asking for trouble.

I'm trying to imagine how the 110 ac to the charger is supposed to get
to the phone she was holding or dropped into the water.

The current in the wire to the phone is 5v DC. Unless something is
seriously outawhack.

There seem to be details missing of all the reports through the years of
people being electrocuted in association with cell phone usage. There
have been fake stories, snopes debunkings, and allegedly true reports.
This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.


--
Mike Easter


I'm wondering too (that's why I posted it here). Unless she had an extension cord and accidentally dropped the end of it into her bath, I'm trying to understand the mechanism of shock.

While I was in the Philippines, which has 220V, I got shocked just touching the screen of my laptop when it was plugged in. I also got shocked from touching the ground of the headphone jack. It was just an unpleasant sensation, nothing serious. Bad ground, maybe?

Michael

Upon a time in S. Vietnam we had a power line where the low
side of the line was significantly above ground. Essentially
we had 2 hot lines. I think it was because the system was
really wonky.

Bill

 

[Mike Easter]

Mike Easter wrote:

This is supposed to be another true report without details from the
Lovington NM investigators.

My personal theory so far is that the phone/charger wasn't actually the
cause of death/electrocution.

So far all I've seen is the name of the Lovington detective David
Miranda who says the cause of death hasn't been established yet and that
the following were 'near' the bath: extension cord, charging cord, cell
phone.

Charging cord? Does that imply that an actual *charger* is integrated
with the cord? There are all kinds of ways to charge a phone from AC,
and often the /cord/ per se is just USB, plugging into the AC adapter
one end and the phone the other.

Some of the news stories on this are absolutely unbelievable and totally
fabricated.

Here's a particularly whacky one:

http://www.thenewsrecorder.com/14-year-old-girl-found-dead-in-bathtub-due-to-electric-shock/37453


--
Mike Easter

 

[Mike Easter]

Mike Easter wrote:

Lovington detective David Miranda who says the cause of death hasn't
been established yet and that the following were 'near' the bath:
extension cord, charging cord, cell phone.

Oh, yeah; another tidbit. Authorities were called shortly after
midnight. Different kind of time for a bath; and/but Madison has a
history of long 2 hour baths according to mother/grandmother.

"Police in Lovington said in a statement sent to NBC News Wednesday that
authorities were called to a home around 12:24 a.m. (2:24 a.m. ET)
Sunday for reports of an unresponsive female. Police said they attempted
lifesaving measures, but Madison was pronounced dead at the hospital a
short time later."



--
Mike Easter

 

[Tom Biasi]

On 7/12/2017 3:42 AM, Helmut Wabnig wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:29:36 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html


USA has the lowest electrical safety standards worldwide,
equivalent to Bangla Desh, Ahghanistan and Iraq war zones:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/08/02/128936546/iraq-an-electrician-s-nightmare


w.

Really? I can't seem to find a copy of Iraq's version of NEC.

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Wed, 12 Jul 2017 21:37:32 -0400, Tom Biasi <tombiasi@optonline.net>
wrote:

On 7/12/2017 3:42 AM, Helmut Wabnig wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:29:36 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html


USA has the lowest electrical safety standards worldwide,
equivalent to Bangla Desh, Ahghanistan and Iraq war zones:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/08/02/128936546/iraq-an-electrician-s-nightmare


w.

Really? I can't seem to find a copy of Iraq's version of NEC.

Didn't you know? Everything is better and less expensive anywhere
than in the US >:-}

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I'm looking for work... see my website.

Thinking outside the box... producing elegant solutions.

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2017-07-11, mrdarrett@gmail.com <mrdarrett@gmail.com> wrote:

Apparently she reached for her phone while she was in the bath, and it was charging... but still... ?!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/07/11/teen-dies-from-using-cellphone-while-taking-bath.html

"Big Clive" has reveiwed some chargers that are compatible with that
scenario (and with no safety standards)


--
This email has not been checked by half-arsed antivirus software

 

[Mike Easter]

Jasen Betts wrote:

"Big Clive" has reveiwed some chargers that are compatible with that
scenario (and with no safety standards)

I 'hate it' when some info source is only found on youtube such as
bigclivedotcom's vids. There's a website, but...

--
Mike Easter