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These 30 Ways To Die From Electrocution From A 1931 Book Shows How Much The World Has Changed
Vintage books and magazines can tell you a lot about the way people used to live back in the day. When this old publication resurfaced on the internet, however, it raised more questions than the answers it provided.
It's from 1931 and it's called Elektroschutz in 132 Bildern (Electrical Protection in 132 Pictures). The book simply lists ways people could've gotten electrocuted and while some of them totally make sense (for example, touching a lamp), there are some that look... bizarre, to put it lightly. Like, that one about the guy peeing off a bridge. Continue scrolling to check out what I mean!
(h/t vintageeveryday)
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I'm getting the feeling that this artist is not pro-electricity :P
In 1931 electricity was new to most people and they did not have experience with the dangers, plus the fact that the wiring was very primitive and presumably not grounded the way it would be later in the century. Most likely it was a heavy handed attempt at educating either the public or else perhaps the electricians...
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When I was 4 years old back in the Netherlands we had a ceiling-high spruce covered with candles and angel hair, exactly as shown in this image (except more of both!). Glass baubles were a bit of a luxury so not too many of them, but it was a magical sight regardless. A foot of snow outside. Throw in the smell of coffee, gingerbread, and cigars and that's the perfect Christmas...
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It's metal tinsel touching the (undoubtedly ungrounded) light fixture, and the kid is touching both the metal tinsel and the metal radiator, thus conducting electricity through himself.
@Fixin'Ta: Thank you. That's what I was trying to say. You said it better. I don't think they make them out of metal anymore. :-)
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I don't get it. My mom said when she was a little girl growing up in German, they would put REAL candles on the tree, with REAL flames, and you had to watch that sh*t or else burn down your house! But the tree was never decorated and lit up until Christmas Eve anyways.
My mother has similar memories, her family came from Holland. We still have the candles, but we don't light them. She said that they always kept a big bucket of water nearby, haha.
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I ran across the following at a university. A metal conduit carrying electric lines was hot with 115 volts on the conduit. A desk with metallic trim around the edge was pushed against the conduit making the trim hot. I could feel the tingling whenever I touched the trim. Building maintenance did not want to admit to a problem. They changed their mind when I attached a wire to the conduit and then touched the other end of the wire to a hot water radiator in the room. The arc that occurred was enough too convince them that there was a problem.
Electricity was pretty dangerous in its early use. There weren't many safeguards.
I just wanna know why in the hell this kid has his hand on a metal steam radiator?!? Even if he doesn't get electrocuted, he's still going to have third-degree burns on his hand!!
No wall sockets, if you want electricity you plug into the light fitting😨
He's touching the old fashioned metal tinsel. I think they make it out of plastic nowadays.
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The electricity traveled through her body and exited, of all places, through her butt...
I'm really confused as to why the pitchfork is floating in his...region...
The fckrs never die this way and they cut all the wires all the time!
Who the heck sits at a (very tiny, I might add) sink with a hairdryer?
That probably did happen from time to time. People didn't understand the dangers as well back then.
Notice how the ladder is leaning on the window pane? More likely to die being impaled on broken glass.
Maybe the electrocuted contractor laying by the newly installed mailbox would have been a tip -off
The moral of the story is if you see a big red arrow pointing at something then don't touch it, it's a trap.
This was probably when they still used dc current (a lot more dangerous) and wire insulation was nonexistent or not very good.
Yes, the common thread seems to be that any bit of metal may have current running through it at any time. e.g. if a lamp is plugged in, you must assume that every surface on the lamp carries a charge.
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Great illustrations...and good simple advice in a world where electricity in the home was new, circuits were not grounded, and exterior wires were not insulated. Outstanding post!!
I agree, the illustrations are very well juxtaposed and detailed.
Load More Replies... Judging by the comments on some of the pictures, some people even today don't seem to understand how current discharges happen.
Get the feeling they used electricity before they discovered the benefits of insulation and earthing??
The comments were both educational and hilarious!
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From the golden days of electricity, when no one bothered with insulation :D
Oh my god, along with the golden comments in this post, I couldn't get over their faces! The woman in #8 (currently) reminds me of Nicolas Cage :P
I've seen these online before, and I'm calling them a well-done hoax. The biggest giveaway is the modern hair dryer design that didn't exist back then. Same with the really unlikely scenarios such as peeing off a bridge onto streetcar wires.
Some of these make me wonder if they either had no concept of how electricity worked or just had absolutely crappy technology. The other ones are just natural selection or someone who is too tired to think before touching everything
Ach, it's Germany. Have you seen their illustrated fairy tales from back in the day? Those will give you 24-hour-mares. Also, even in the US at that time, effective insulation on electric devices and widespread adoption of electricity hadn't happened yet (look up the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority), and people needed to be taught about how to, uh, conduct themselves around electrical outlets, appliances and so forth. OTOH, after looking at the first drawing, I started humming "Dumb Ways to Die" to myself, so there's that...
That is EXACTLY how electricity travels. Without proper insulation your body becomes the grounding conductor.
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The moral of the story is if you see a big red arrow pointing at something then don't touch it, it's a trap.
This was probably when they still used dc current (a lot more dangerous) and wire insulation was nonexistent or not very good.
Yes, the common thread seems to be that any bit of metal may have current running through it at any time. e.g. if a lamp is plugged in, you must assume that every surface on the lamp carries a charge.
Load More Replies... Great illustrations...and good simple advice in a world where electricity in the home was new, circuits were not grounded, and exterior wires were not insulated. Outstanding post!!
I agree, the illustrations are very well juxtaposed and detailed.
Load More Replies... Judging by the comments on some of the pictures, some people even today don't seem to understand how current discharges happen.
Get the feeling they used electricity before they discovered the benefits of insulation and earthing??
The comments were both educational and hilarious!
Load More Replies... From the golden days of electricity, when no one bothered with insulation :D
Oh my god, along with the golden comments in this post, I couldn't get over their faces! The woman in #8 (currently) reminds me of Nicolas Cage :P
I've seen these online before, and I'm calling them a well-done hoax. The biggest giveaway is the modern hair dryer design that didn't exist back then. Same with the really unlikely scenarios such as peeing off a bridge onto streetcar wires.
Some of these make me wonder if they either had no concept of how electricity worked or just had absolutely crappy technology. The other ones are just natural selection or someone who is too tired to think before touching everything
Ach, it's Germany. Have you seen their illustrated fairy tales from back in the day? Those will give you 24-hour-mares. Also, even in the US at that time, effective insulation on electric devices and widespread adoption of electricity hadn't happened yet (look up the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority), and people needed to be taught about how to, uh, conduct themselves around electrical outlets, appliances and so forth. OTOH, after looking at the first drawing, I started humming "Dumb Ways to Die" to myself, so there's that...
That is EXACTLY how electricity travels. Without proper insulation your body becomes the grounding conductor.
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