Haunted Telephone?

[The GM]

Hey guys,
Help a forumite out?
I have a BellSouth 2.4 gz cordless phone and answering machine. For some reason (I don't think an actual haunting ;) ) literally every time I touch the damn thing when it rings, it shocks me. You know, like a little zap of static electricity. Zip!!! At first it would cause the prerecorded message to erase. Annoying, to be sure. Then one day I went to answer the phone and ZIP! The caller ID screen went out. Eventually over the course of a few months little things kept going wrong, killing off features of the phone until last week when I went to answer it and ZAP! Dead phone.

Here's the weird part, no one else has ever been shocked by this phone, not my spouse, not guests, literally no one but me. It was noticable that I was the only one getting zapped, and I avoided answering that phone if I could get to the one in the kitchen in time.

Besdes the fact that I got a lemon phone, what might cause it to only react to me and not to other people who touch it? Are my 'electrical fields' corrupted or some such? ;) As a side note, I don't seem to have a static electricity problem with anything else. This is the kind of scenario a lot of people would chalk up to grimlins or something like that. However, I'd like to get some opinions on what could have caused my rather painful relationship with the phone.

Thoughts?

[Hexxenhammer]

What kind of shoes do you wear? Are you walking on carpet? Did it happen EVERY time, or just sometimes?


I hate getting shocks. I get shocked all the time. I actually flinch sometimes when closing my car door or opening a door with a metal handle. This sounds like something that would happen to me.

[The GM]

Sometimes I'd be wearing shoes (lesse here...tennis shoes, sandles, dress shoes with slick bottoms, winter boots) sometimes bare feet, and I'm the occasional sock wearer. We have carpet in that room and other electronics as well. Can't say that the stereo has ever shocked me though! I would get shocked by it so often that it was a pleasant surprise when I didn't. It turned into a game of sorts. The phone would ring and if I got up to answer it, everyone in the room would place their bets to see if the Haunted Phone (tm) would exact its revenge on me.
No one else, to my knowledge, was ever shocked by the phone.

[Hexxenhammer]

Weird. I have no idea.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

All right, now we have the opportunity to investigate one of these "I just can't wear electronic watches" stories!

Start using the phone a lot. Put a little notebook next to it. Each time anyone uses it, record:

date & time
who
what kind of shoes you're wearing
humidity: low, medium, high
anything else, folks?

But before you do this, why don't you first try plugging the phone into a different outlet. See if that makes any difference.

Do you sweat a lot?

~~ Paul

[Agammamon]

So, uhm, what kind of underwear are you wearing?


(hey, don't blame me, Randi suggested this.)

[The GM]

Originally posted by Paul C. Anagnostopoulos
All right, now we have the opportunity to investigate one of these "I just can't wear electronic watches" stories!

Start using the phone a lot. Put a little notebook next to it. Each time anyone uses it, record:

date & time
who
what kind of shoes you're wearing
humidity: low, medium, high
anything else, folks?

But before you do this, why don't you first try plugging the phone into a different outlet. See if that makes any difference.

Do you sweat a lot?

~~ Paul

Actually, after the first month of use, I started doing this (albeit, informally) because my spouse thought I was a little nutty in saying that the phone 'was after me.' (It was said very tongue and cheek btw.) We started paying attention to the stuff you mentioned. The phone was primarily used through the winter (so low humidity.) Shoes or lack thereof seemed to make no difference. I did get a particularly nasty zap (the one that blew out the caller ID screen) when I answered the phone while vacuuming, but other than that, I can't place a particular type of action with the shocks. Time of day made no difference. We receive as many calls during the day as we do at night. The final zap came on a particularly humid day, though. I was bare footed and had just turned on the stereo to no ill effect.

Am I sweaty? Nope. My hands are as dry as bones most of the time.

I have not tried a different outlet, but we have had a different phone plugged into this particular one at one time. I should try moving it and see what happens.

[The GM]

Originally posted by Agammamon
So, uhm, what kind of underwear are you wearing?


(hey, don't blame me, Randi suggested this.)

Well, they're very nice...cozy with a hint of sexy. ;)

I'm adventurous and run the gambit from cotton fabrics to synthetics. Why would this make any difference?

[ShowMe]

Originally posted by The GM
IThoughts?

Are you left handed? Are you married?

If you wear a wedding ring it's on your left hand & made out of some sort of metal that conducts well.

If you're the only left handed person that answers the phone that would explain why you're the only one getting shocked.

[Uh_Clem]

I get shocked by static discharge pretty frequently. Other people have noticed it and thought it a bit odd that I'll get shocked by the same door knob or stainless steel countertop/faucet nearly every time I touch it while they don't have any problem. It seems to be worse for me in the winter and after 10:00 am on any given day.

What do I think it is?

Honestly, I think it's because I have chronicly dry skin and I tend to wear leather shoes with cotton/sythetic blend pants and shirts.

Just my theory on why some people get zapped more than others.

[rebecca]

I am also one of those blessed few who gets shocked regularly. A few weeks ago, it was at the mini-golf course - every time I got the balls out of the metal cup, it zapped me, but not my boyfriend.

Like a poster said above, I think it's what kind of material your clothes are, as in synthetics are more likely to shock. Also, the dry skin thing is a possible lead, as I have pretty dry skin on my hands.

And along the lines of underwear - I think what matters is whether you're wearing NYLONS or not. But we're all fascinated with your undie choice, nonetheless. Personally, I don't do the pantyhose thing, partially because I got shocked so much with them.

I always thought if I had a superpower, I would probably be Static-Girl.

[rebecca]

Oh yeah, and you mentioned you use the phone mostly in the winter - the air tends to be dryer in the winter in most parts, or at least all the places I've lived. I couldn't even pet my long-haired cat this past winter, as she made little popping sounds on every rub. Poor thing. Funny, though.

[The GM]

Originally posted by ShowMe


Are you left handed? Are you married?

If you wear a wedding ring it's on your left hand & made out of some sort of metal that conducts well.

If you're the only left handed person that answers the phone that would explain why you're the only one getting shocked.

Yes on both accounts. I'm the only lefty in the house. Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that. I should try answering with my right hand and see where that goes.

[The GM]

Originally posted by rebecca


And along the lines of underwear - I think what matters is whether you're wearing NYLONS or not. But we're all fascinated with your undie choice, nonetheless. Personally, I don't do the pantyhose thing, partially because I got shocked so much with them.

I always thought if I had a superpower, I would probably be Static-Girl.

And see, he coulda just asked for my sign. ;)
If I were a super hero, I'd have the ability to calm jittery squirrels.

EDIT: grammar

[rebecca]

Squirrel Girl has a pleasant ring to it.

[Calee]

Try tying a chain around your waist and letting it drag on the ground to dissipate the static electricity.

Just a thought....

[rebecca]

Originally posted by Calee
Try tying a chain around your waist and letting it drag on the ground to dissipate the static electricity.

Just a thought....

Sure, or you can wear a suit made of rubber, like scuba gear or something.

[JSFolk]

Originally posted by rebecca
Squirrel Girl has a pleasant ring to it.

Sorry, been done... http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/sqlgrl.htm

I used to work for Solutia, and they make a carpet fiber called "No shock". Manufacturers would apparently weave this into nylon carpets, and it conducts electricity to dissipate static problems.

http://www.solutia.com/pages/corporate/products/product.asp?product=118

Most phones Iv'e seen have plastic cases, which would not lend themselves well to shocking. Does yours have a metal case? Is it grounded? (Does the plug going into the wall have two prongs or three?)

[Aoidoi]

To flesh out (sorry) what Agammamon wrote:

As mentioned Randi's commentary last week had a thing about nylons and static electricity: http://www.randi.org/jr/050704your.html

A few decades ago, damage to computer equipment and to magnetic media was quite common and was usually tracked down to static electricity discharges in poorly-designed offices. This could well be causing the effects that "magnetism man" (April 16/04) is observing. One classic case (at IBM?) identified the "lethal" combination of nylon carpets and ladies wearing nylon underwear as a particular problem! I suggest if your anonymous reader is concerned with how to handle clients with odd beliefs, it would be best to avoid the situation completely by enquiring of them the material composition of their underwear before taking them on as clients!

Though I find myself rather amused even suggesting it, perhaps you have an underwear/phone issue? I doubt that one's in any FAQ... :)

[rebecca]

Originally posted by JSFolk


Sorry, been done... http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/sqlgrl.htm


Thank you, JS. Now I'll be plagued with waking nightmares for the rest of my life. That was a creepy, creepy character.

[ShowMe]

Originally posted by The GM


Yes on both accounts. I'm the only lefty in the house. Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that. I should try answering with my right hand and see where that goes.

Check the phone about where your ring would be when you answered it. See if there is any metal or fraying or anything else that might conduct electricity.

Ringing a phone requires a minimum of 45V RMS @ 40 mA (if I recall my electronic schooling from many years ago). If it were close enough arcing would be a consideration.

[Agammamon]

Originally posted by The GM


Well, they're very nice...cozy with a hint of sexy. ;)

I'm adventurous and run the gambit from cotton fabrics to synthetics. Why would this make any difference?


Last week's commentary had a small section about people being repeatedly shocked by their computers (and oftime losing data). One of the contributors to static is nylon stockings/underwear which can hold a charge quite well.