Static shocks - are you prone to them?

Biggins

Every time I walk though a particular town centre, I sell to get a serious amount of nasty static shocks from either the buttons on lifts, from door handles and other items.
Its always in one shopping centre.
Around the rest of the town, I'm absolutely fine.

Is it something to do with the materials, the building was constructed with?

Anyone else the same? Are you prone to static more so in some areas or at all?

Any suggestions (besides avoiding the property) for lowering the chances of being zapped by static?

scdublin

Yep, and everyone finds it hilarious because of my reaction and they can usually hear the shock too. It happens to me with cars mostly!

Aglomerado

All the time. :mad: Gah.

AnonoBoy

Wearing a rubber wet suit all the time sorts this out I find.

Plazaman

Tis your shoes, you must have rubber or synthetic soles on them thats not letting natural static go to ground. I used to get mad shocks and the family dog refused to come near me and still treats me with suspicion nearly a year on.

Get yourself to the cobbler

ejmaztec

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Wearing a rubber wet suit all the time sorts this out I find.

.. and if that doesn't solve the problem, using an electric toaster in the bath will.

Gbear

Protip:

If you get shocked by shopping trollies a lot, as you're moving around the shop, keep contact with the metal at all times.

This way you're constantly discharging the static rather than getting it in big lumps which hurt your hand.

smash

Biggins wrote: »

Every time I walk though a particular town centre, I sell to get a serious amount of nasty static shocks from either the buttons on lifts, from door handles and other items.

Chernobyl?

FatherLen

it's your super power beginning to activate. put you hand in the toaster to unlock your true potential.

I am pie

Always always getting zapped on the paw by those self checkout touch screens at the supermarket. Arrghhhh

I always put it down to not lifting my feet properly shuffling around the supermarket.

castletownman

I found when I was in Las Vegas years ago I ALWAYS got static shocks from touching anything metal (car doors etc). It only happened in Vegas though, never anywhere else in the States, and we travelled around every where in it every summer!

I figured it must have been all the neon lights :P

norrie rugger

scdublin wrote: »

Yep, and everyone finds it hilarious because of my reaction and they can usually hear the shock too. It happens to me with cars mostly!

when you feel the charge building up then zap one of them. Usually makes them stop laughing

smash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PPDmDnxcEc

kwestfan08

Yep. Shopping trolleys are the bane of my life

uch

Haha, reminds me of when we were kids, we lived near an urban cattle farm, cattle kept in by electric fence's, which for some reason the shock from it never bothered me, so I'd stand beside it and hold on and when any friends came by I'd put out me hand to shake hands with them, then Crack! ahh you effin Bastrad!!, you'd be surprised how bleedin' stupid some people are, getting caught like that several times.

Yeh, hate the feckers, shopping trolleys are the worse offenders and supermarket fridges are a close second :mad:

Latchy

Yes...I'm another static shocker and I got to learn the difference between a live wire ,as in a faulty plug and just touching the surface of something and getting a (usually mild but sometimes stronger ) shock .The funniest example of this was several years ago on the Liverpool v Dublin ferry as I brushed past a female crew member ,we both let out an ' ouch ' and jolted away from each other as our arms gently touched and triggered a static shock ( sounds like something from Mills and Boon ) and passengers on both sides of cabin were wondering what the hell was up with us

clintondaly

Im afriad to go near a Dunnes Stores because of the shocks i got and its not down to the low prices,my car is the same,i am now in the habit of touching the car with my elbow to discharge the static,also i had my daughter at the playground the other day and i was catching her coming down the slide and you could hear the static.

and the weirdest is chocolate bar wrapper Mars,Snickers etc. which once i open them i cannot get them off my hand.

kfallon

Yes but not as bad as I was, the button for the lift in work was one that would often catch me out

candy-gal1

I was a static shock virgin till about a few years ago, I got my first electric shock off another persons clothes i think at the time and was seriously like Woah WTF was that?! :pac:
Was always wondering before that what people were on about really when theyd say "oh i got a mad shock off that metal staircase/jumper/what have you!

mauzo

I hate it!! I always get them, and then get a fright and scream and people think im weird.

Ive started to pull my sleeve over my hand when Im going to touch something that might shock me. I use my elbows to push buttons in an elevator, sleeves over hands when Im holding a hand rail etc I look like a right muppet.

mauzo

clintondaly wrote: »

Im afriad to go near a Dunnes Stores because of the shocks i got and its not down to the low prices,my car is the same,i am now in the habit of touching the car with my elbow to discharge the static,also i had my daughter at the playground the other day and i was catching her coming down the slide and you could hear the static.

and the weirdest is chocolate bar wrapper Mars,Snickers etc. which once i open them i cannot get them off my hand.

The plastic off a box of cigarettes always sticks to me. So I end up flapping my hand around like an idiot.

norrie rugger

I remember working in Dunnes, when younger, and I was working in the paper roll aisle.

All that plastic from the individual packs and the wrapping that held several packs together!
I could feel the charge building enough that hairs on my arms and back of my neck were standing up.
One poor customer tapped me on the arm, to ask a question. Que audible crack and a visible discharge. The poor git must have gotten some shock, as he quite literally jumped back from me with a look of surprised pain on his face.
I found it funny anyway

Latchy

candy-gal1 wrote: »

I was a static shock virgin till about a few years ago, I got my first electric shock off another persons clothes i think at the time and was seriously like Woah WTF was that?! :pac:
Was always wondering before that what people were on about really when theyd say "oh i got a mad shock off that metal staircase/jumper/what have you!

Yes ...clothes are another biggie that can trigger static shock on me , usually nylon wool or silk .

Ficheall

I find those lecture hall whiteboards which can slide up and down over each other are a disaster too. Mildly entertaining for the students, of course.

kfallon

syndeyfife wrote: »

I hate it!! I always get them, and then get a fright and scream and people think im weird.

Ive started to pull my sleeve over my hand when Im going to touch something that might shock me. I use my elbows to push buttons in an elevator, sleeves over hands when Im holding a hand rail etc I look like a right muppet.

Don't go so extreme, use your knuckle to press the button and you'll be ok!

Julius Seizure

clintondaly wrote: »

Im afriad to go near a Dunnes Stores because of the shocks i got and its not down to the low prices,my car is the same,i am now in the habit of touching the car with my elbow to discharge the static,also i had my daughter at the playground the other day and i was catching her coming down the slide and you could hear the static.

and the weirdest is chocolate bar wrapper Mars,Snickers etc. which once i open them i cannot get them off my hand.

Thanks you! Dunnes' fridges are the only thing that get me. Or the trampoline springs...

kfallon

clintondaly wrote: »

and the weirdest is chocolate bar wrapper Mars,Snickers etc. which once i open them i cannot get them off my hand.

Wham Bar wrappers, takes me about a minute to get it off the bar and then another minute to get it off me fingers! Would drive you round the bend!

mauzo

kfallon wrote: »

Don't go so extreme, use your knuckle to press the button and you'll be ok!

Would it not shock me then?? My friends say I look like Im afraid of germs using my elbow lol

harney

I used to get them in some server rooms, not fun touching a metal door and nearly losing an arm *perhaps a very slight exaggeration*

The worst though was an old car that my girlfriend and I had. Every time that she kissed me it was like I was hit by lightening, and not in the good way. She thought it was hilarious and kept trying to see how much pain she could cause me. You could actually see sparks sometimes! It got to the stage I was practically huddled in a ball in the back seat trying to get away from her. God damn Spanish and their warped sense of humour. Still, I got my revenge introducing her to the old classic, pull my finger :cool:

kfallon

syndeyfife wrote: »

Would it not shock me then?? My friends say I look like Im afraid of germs using my elbow lol

No, just bend your finger and press it with the mid knuckle. Think the tip of the finger is the most conductive (is that a word???) part. Prob has something to do with maybe it's bone at the knuckle. It was a little tip me Da gave me, he's an electrician and it worked for me!

Try it later on or the next time you are in a lift!

If ever I see a weirdo pressing a lift button with their elbow and generally looking like a mong I'll come over and say hi

spoofilyj

Biggins wrote: »

Every time I walk though a particular town centre, I sell to get a serious amount of nasty static shocks from either the buttons on lifts, from door handles and other items.
Its always in one shopping centre.
Around the rest of the town, I'm absolutely fine.

Is it something to do with the materials, the building was constructed with?

Anyone else the same? Are you prone to static more so in some areas or at all?

Any suggestions (besides avoiding the property) for lowering the chances of being zapped by static?

Yes but I completely depends on what I'm wearing and where I am.

In work I'm constantly getting big shocks when earthing myself on the metal stair rails or the door release switch.

It only happens when I'm wearing my formal work trousers with shoes that have a leather sole and rubber lower sole, thus when walking my trousers which must have some man made material in them such as nylon etc are generating a charge and because I'm insulated from the ground the charge gets stored until I touch something and it all goes out in one go.

When I'm wearing the same cloths with different shoes I dont get the shock though.

It can be really painful at times! Although some of my friends get shocked when closing car doors and I believe that can be a lot more painful...

I think atmospheric pressure may be a contributary factor too...

mauzo

kfallon wrote: »

No, just bend your finger and press it with the mid knuckle. Think the tip of the finger is the most conductive (is that a word???) part. Prob has something to do with maybe it's bone at the knuckle. It was a little tip me Da gave me, he's an electrician and it worked for me!

Try it later on or the next time you are in a lift!

If ever I see a weirdo pressing a lift button with their elbow and generally looking like a mong I'll come over and say hi

Gee thanks, Sure you wouldnt mind being seen with me in public now??

kfallon

syndeyfife wrote: »

Gee thanks, Sure you wouldnt mind being seen with me in public now??

Na I don't mind at all.....once the bag is over your head everything should be fine then

Car doors....now there's another thing that gives me shocks!

Krispie

Oh Yeah.
OH bought a Dyson vacuum back years ago. Just moved into new house so brand spanking new carpets too. I went to vacuum carpets and BANG, mother of all static shocks. Naturally I fessed up and said...... "it was an electric shock from the Dyson." Since them have got away with hoovering around the house.:D:D

cocoshovel

Very rarely, but Im prone to getting them constantly off shopping trolleys and treadmills. Its kind of addictive in a way, I keep touching the shopping trolley every 2 minutes or so to get a shock. I dont know why?!

The Dummy Runner

Gbear wrote: »

Protip:

If you get shocked by shopping trollies a lot, as you're moving around the shop, keep contact with the metal at all times.

This way you're constantly discharging the static rather than getting it in big lumps which hurt your hand.

Shopping trollies aways getting us. I'd have 2 kids in the seats and we normally zap each other.

foxyboxer

ZZZzzzzap!

Kerry Gooner

Strange but only find it a problem with Tesco trolleys.

Biggins

smash wrote: »

Chernobyl?

Aye, parts of me glow in the dark!

Canard

castletownman wrote: »

I found when I was in Las Vegas years ago I ALWAYS got static shocks from touching anything metal (car doors etc). It only happened in Vegas though, never anywhere else in the States, and we travelled around every where in it every summer!

I figured it must have been all the neon lights :P

Same! Everything I touched was shocking me - door handles especially. I figured it was the carpets though. :P

Real Life

yes i get them a lot, i also cause computers to freeze a lot. not sure if its related or not.

Samich

Yes

Hand rails, door handles etc.

I hate going to touch them in case I get a shock

Samich

Oh yeah, static electricity is due to the humidity in the air. The electricity has less water to conduct through in low humidity which is why you'd be getting shocked in Las Vegas

Biggins

Its got to the stage now that if I'm out with the wife, she knows to do the pressing of all the buttons on lifts all the time.

El Weirdo

I used to get them all the time - car doors, stairways, trollies.

Stopped wearing Nike trainers and have never had one since.

Nikes also stink after a while, in a way that no other brand of sports shoe does - I was told by someone that it's the glue they use.

Adidas Originals FTW.

kfallon

I've stopped getting them the past few months, wonder was it something to do with shoes/runners etc that I've changed.

Jimoslimos

Yeah I seem to be prone to them.

Happened once while I was moving in to give the gf a kiss, between our noses before they touched *SHOCK*

One of us screamed like a girl:o

kfallon

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Yeah I seem to be prone to them.

Happened once while I was moving in to give the gf a kiss, between our noses before they touched *SHOCK*

One of us screamed like a girl:o

Jaysus I'd say ye held yer breath when you were just about to stick yer mickey in her :pac:

Biggins

The weird thing is that it happens only in one shopping centre - never other centres, never elsewhere!

Abi

Only seem to get them in shopping centres and from their trolleys. It doesn't always happen though, just when you least expect it :mad: