http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_222b.html
Dear Cecil:
Are there any known instances of winos, derelicts and others possessing
unreliable bladders meeting their Maker while peeing on the third
("hot") rail from a subway or elevated train platform? --Impatient on
the Howard line, Chicago
Dear Impatient:
Not in Chicago. But I did turn up one instance in New York City, ever
the pacesetter in this regard.
Marshall Houta's Where Death Delights contains the sad story of one
Joseph Patrick O'Malley, a man with two unfortunate habits: heavy
drinking and wandering through subway tunnels.
One morning, O'Malley's mangled body was found in a tunnel 50 yards from
the nearest station. He had apparently been struck and killed by a train.
But an autopsy turned up another cause: "The burns on the head of the
penis and on the thumb and forefinger were obviously electrical
burns....The stream of urine had come into contact with the 600 volts of
the third rail. The current had coursed up the stream to cause the burns
on his body as the electricity entered it.
"In all probability, he was dead from electrocution before the train
ever hit his body."
Others have their doubts, however.
The combination of water and electricity is notoriously volatile--so
much so that there might be a built-in safety factor, i.e., the shock
would be great enough to knock you down. This would spoil your aim and
cut off the current before the electricity could do its lethal work on
your heart muscles.
In any case the experience would not be pleasant. So take a tip from
your Uncle Cecil: play it cool, stay in school, and watch were you're
spreading those vital fluids.
--CECIL ADAMS
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