Stupid Guest Tricks

hobie16 wrote:The charge came from static electricity generated by friction between material (cloth, floor, shoes and floor) especially in dry locations. In addition, the human body is filled with chemical fluids; the mix of them in most of the cases is an acid (pH over 7). When the body is acid we can conduct electricity very well and we cannot keep much electric charge. But if we are below 7, our body is acting like an insulator keeping a lot of charge. When you drink water or other acid fluids you are adding salts to the body increasing the pH (makes the body more acid).

Or, you need to drink more water.

Hey - that's what my chiropractor and physician are always telling - drink more water! Thanks, Hobie, for the spot-on diagnosis. I didn't realize that it might affect my ability to channel electricity.
I'm off to the watering hole...(no, Pirate, not the local bar).

Whazzup wrote:Hey - that's what my chiropractor and physician are always telling - drink more water! Thanks, Hobie, for the spot-on diagnosis. I didn't realize that it might affect my ability to channel electricity.
I'm off to the watering hole...(no, Pirate, not the local bar).

You do need to stay hydrated but not to excess. Eight glasses of water a day is an old wives tale. The easiest way to determine if you are properly hydrated is the color of your urine. Yellow means you're dehydrated, clear indicates you're hydrated.

Alcohol, while tasty and other things, leaches water from your cells leaving you dehydrated. Hangovers are caused by large amounts of alcohol that dehydrate the body. Hair of the dog numbs the pain but does nothing for rehydrating cells.

Caffeine is another substance that causes dehydration. For me it's interesting because I do a lot of long distance biking and one good fuel is Coke, primarily for the energy boost from caffeine and simple carbs via the sugar. I carry water bottles so I'm continually drinking to offset any water loss.

Whazzup wrote:I agree a thunderstorm is a dramatic and fascinating phenomenon but here in Florida they are downright scary! Most summer days from about mid-May through September or October, we have afternoon thunderstorms with heavy lightning. It is very dangerous being outside during those storms, with lightning striking fences, trees, buildings and other tall objects. I think Tampa(?) is the lightning capital of the U.S. but the rest of Florida and other parts of the southeast are right up there. (Correct me if I'm wrong, dancing homer and other meteorologists.)

Next time you're at WDW, notice that all the buldings have short, upright lightning rods spaced across the roofs to help prevent the buildings from direct strikes. One of the worst lightning storms I've experienced was at WDW while walking down the covered ramp from the monorail. It was crashing nonstop in the air around us and I felt really exposed even with a cover over me.

Everything you said is absolutely true. It is extremely dangerous to be outside during a thunderstorm, but that doesn't stop me (I make sure I'm in a safe place though). Florida is the lightning capital of the country, not sure about Tampa specifically. If you want to see some interesting facts about that, check out this site and the last few bullet points mention how your odds of getting struck are much greater in the Florida area.

I've actually never looked for any lightning rods when I'm down at WDW. I'm gonna make sure I look for them next time I'm down there. Of course the first thing I thought of when you mentioned lightning rods was the Simpsons episode where they go on vacation in Japan and appear on a game show to win plane tickets back to Springfield. Homer has to take part in the lightning round and that just is Homer strapped to what appears to be a giant Space Needle type building and just constantly getting struck by lightning in a storm. This could be a good punishment for SG who are found to be abusing policies at all of the Disney parks. This would also protect the lightning rods. :twisted:

Actually the area around Nairobi is the lightening strike capital of the world. Orlando only rules in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.

Cheshire Figment wrote:Actually the area around Nairobi is the lightening strike capital of the world. Orlando only rules in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.

Yeah, small area. :D: But I can confirm that. When people ask about giraffes, lightning and Central Florida (usually they know about the one that blew up early on), I will respond with how we're doing the giraffes a favor by moving them here. :D:

Big Wallaby wrote:Yeah, small area. :D: But I can confirm that. When people ask about giraffes, lightning and Central Florida (usually they know about the one that blew up early on), I will respond with how we're doing the giraffes a favor by moving them here. :D:

but the only one who died from a strike so far, was Betsy in AK.

When we took the behind the magic tour, they made a point of pointing out the lightning rods on the tops of the buildings and some attractions!

GRUMPY PIRATE wrote:When we took the behind the magic tour, they made a point of pointing out the lightning rods on the tops of the buildings and some attractions!

Some?

Big Wallaby wrote:Some?

Yeah, they mentioned it in passing when we were backstage behind Sorin, we were on the bus going to the next stop, when someone in the group asked about it, and a few were pointed out. then you noticed that they were everywhere, if you looked!!

Whazzup wrote:Lightning really scares me, as I seem to be especially vulnerable to eletricity. At work during the winter my slacks and blouses always stayed plastered to my body from static electricity, even when nobody else was experiencing that problem. The anti-static sprays don't seem to help much. I can walk around in a store, especially WalMart, and when I reach out to touch something I get a static shock with an audible snap that makes me jump. DH doesn't have that problem and he laughs when I go EEK! when I get a jolt of static. Can anyone explain why some people might be more "eletronically attractive" than others?

While not disagreeing with what others have posted, there's a very good chance you could solve the problem by changing your shoes, or perhaps your socks/hose. If either is a good insulator, it's easy to pick up a static charge. If your footware is a conductor, it will discharge that static to ground and keep you from zapping things.

I used to work in an electronics manufacturing plant, and we had to ban several varieties of shoes and all pantyhose from the production floor because the components were getting zapped. :litning: