Electricity is deadly. 

We all know this, yet most of us have been taught some basic incorrect information about electricity. For instance, I was taught that 120 VAC will hurt you, and that 240 VAC and 440 VAC will seriously damage or kill you. However, I went to an ongoing education electrical course and the master electrician teaching the course said, “If you have been shocked and you’re still alive, you’re really lucky.” So I listened up. “The real killer is the AMPS. If 1/10^th of 1 AMP crosses your heart, you’re done.”. He went on to explain that the smallest circuit breaker in a standard electric panel is 15 AMPs so it would take a long time to shut off unless it’s an AFCI breaker.  Things to think about.

Funny story: I was taking the cover off an electric panel in the basement at an inspection. The client, a woman of about 50, was standing a safe 10 feet away from me. She says to me, “You know what one of my jobs was when I was a kid?”.  “No, what?” I asked.  She replied, “My dad did a lot of work on the house. When he was going to do something with the electric panel, he would hand me a baseball bat and tell me, “Honey, if I get shocked, you hit me as hard as you can to break the current.””. I asked her if she had to go to therapy for that:)