Walmart is selling the instant death cable

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu 125V gets you stun locked and slowly fried

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu American electricity is a complete mystery. Here in the UK i can't think of one single possible use for a cable with a plug at each end but it really seems to be a thing people want over there?

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu That’s a 120V outlet plug. Basically you’ll touch one end of it, you’ll feel a shock and jerk your hand back. Source: I work with electricity and coincidentally got shocked by 120v today.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu I used them all the time when I lived in a neighborhood with frequent power outages. They're perfectly safe for everyone as long as you pull the main breaker first.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Well if you plugged it into an outlet that is on the same circuit or even in the same phase, it should technically do nothing. But if you plug it in to an outlet that's in a different phase, it will briefly have 240v across it with near 0 resistance, which would create a huge…

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu It could cause a short circuit, which would insanely heat up the wire, making it possibly set shit on fire. It can also fry whatever you plug it into.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Among other things, the built-in fuse in Christmas light strings is at the end that’s *supposed* to be plugged in… so if the lights short out, the fuse won’t be effective and your tree will catch fire

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu you know how you're not supposed to stick a fork in an outlet? this is like putting a fork in an outlet and leaving it there

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Joke responses aside, people use these to plug a generator into their house. This is a terrible idea bc it bypasses the fuse box for that circuit (ie, if you plug too much into that room it could catch on fire), and it can back feed into power lines being worked on + other homes.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Ok so it depends on the polarity. If the polarity of the two ends match and they're plugged into the same circuit literally nothing happens. If the polarity is opposite it's functionally identical to sticking a bent paperclip into the outlet.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu your "what does the instant death cable do" tweet is asking a lot of questions answered in your tweet

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu 99% of these replies have no idea specifically why a double male AC mains cable is a terrible idea. I am glad that they do understand not to use them tho, even if they dont know why.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Depending on how it is constructed (crossover/patch wiring) and how you use it (connect both ends to the same breaker/different breaker) you can create no house fire, a small house fire, or a large house fire.

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Realistically?

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu

@dynastic @BubblegumOctopu Worst case: Shoots across your heart, stopping it. Best case: going to have arc flash burns.