Category: Social Psychology

Here is a trick to solve the problem!

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There I was, sitting on the train; my stop was fast approaching. I decided to get up and move closer to the door.

As soon as I put my hand on the metal pole to keep myself balanced I got shocked and inadvertently shocked another passenger whose hand was next to mine.

We looked at each other, shared a laugh, and both exclaimed, ‘Ouch!’ simultaneously!

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault”, I admit.

It’s true. It’s become a bit of a habit: over the years, I’ve shocked countless people, myself included — my kids and strangers.

I had to get to the bottom of this mystery. Obviously, I turned to Google in search of a scientific explanation:

“Why do I get more shocks than others when touching metal?”

It turned out that some people are more sensitive to shocks than others (living proof, by the way).

I might just be a walking lightning rod, packing more static electricity than the average person. The trick, according to science, is to keep that charge below the ‘ouch’ threshold (which, by the way, is somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 volts).

Another significant factor is the lack of humidity in the air during the dry winter months, whereas in hot, humid weather, more charges can dissipate, preventing the buildup that leads to shocks.

Here’s a neat trick I stumbled upon to avoid shocks (though I haven’t tested it yet): Carry a metal object like a key or a coin, and tap it against another metal surface to ‘discharge’ yourself.

Just remember, touch a metal object using another metal object to release static discharge before touching it with your hand.

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