Mythbusters — Not Busted!
March 1, 2007
When an idea hangs in there at the fringe of people’s personal reality, it attains a cult, myth-like status. Can this really happen? Did someone just make this up? If it does actually happen only but rarely, it becomes a novel and credible plot item for entertainment, further reinforcing the idea that someone just made the whole thing up. That seems to be the situation with many memes, and radio in the bathtub is no exception.
Enter Mythbusters! Entertainment about ideas that hang far enough out at the fringe that it almost seems like they simply originated within the entertainment business itself.
The Electrical-Appliance-in-the-Bathtub Test, from Episode 19
Does Hollywood have it right? Can you really die from an electrical appliance falling into a bathtub? Jamie and Adam went on the case in episode 19: Quicksand.
text & picture: http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/photogalleries/bathtub/bathtub.html
Yes, electrocutions can and have happened from appliances falling or being thrown into bathtubs, kitchern sinks, etc. but happened more often many years ago than at any time recently. Two reasons for the relative rarity of such things in recent times.
First, most people are sufficiently aware of the potential danger to take common-sense precautions instead of taking foolish risks. Keeping appliances well away from the bathtub so their cords couldn’t possibly reach that far without becoming unplugged.
Second, a little device called a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) has been around for some 35 years now and had been required by electrical codes in all states for kitchen, bathroom, basement, pool, garage, or any other location where water is likely to be encountered. The GFCI is a special outlet in the wall, a speccial type of breaker in the breaker panel, or special plug on appliances themselves. The GFCI is an electronic circuit which detects abnormalities in the circuit which indicate that some of the current from the plug is passing through a path other than the appliance and trips a switch to shut off power within a small fractrion of a second.