My dumbest was also the most enlightening. I was around 11 or 12 y/o and built a HV power supply using a rectifying tube connected through a dropping resistor directly to mains.
Yes it was incredibly stupid but so was I at the time.
I plugged the circuit in, which did work fine indoors, but this was in the shed and the floor was wet from rain seeping in.
I didn't even touch the thing after turning it on. I just got my hand close enough to the rectifying tube that I felt the jolt go through the glass into my hand and knocked me back right out the door a few feet behind me.
I was also one of those stupid kids at the age of 6y/o jamming things into the outlet. Turned my hands black a few times as a kid from charring them on AC. Not kidding.
Now I am much older, have a very extensive electronics background and engineer complex electrical circuits including high voltage, and even love to repair and restore old tube based electronics using hundreds to thousands of volts along with deadly capacitors.
The difference is I learned the hard way early on; and thank God I didn't die, that high voltage is nothing to play with. It's something to be respected and never learn to feel too comfortable. That nervousness that keeps you on your feet also keeps you alive.
Only thing that has happened by accident lately was the 2 meter 10 watt RF tube based amplifier I made. I had a nest of wires on my workbench and went to test a power supply transformer by quickly wiring the mains plug to it with twisties. Went to pull my desk chair away from the bench and the power cord got caught in my chair wheel yanking it from the transformer and making the hot wire pop out touching the ground of the circuit. Fried nothing thankfully but made a loud enough pop to scare the hell out of me and everyone else in the house.
Yes it was incredibly stupid but so was I at the time.
I plugged the circuit in, which did work fine indoors, but this was in the shed and the floor was wet from rain seeping in.
I didn't even touch the thing after turning it on. I just got my hand close enough to the rectifying tube that I felt the jolt go through the glass into my hand and knocked me back right out the door a few feet behind me.
I was also one of those stupid kids at the age of 6y/o jamming things into the outlet. Turned my hands black a few times as a kid from charring them on AC. Not kidding.
Now I am much older, have a very extensive electronics background and engineer complex electrical circuits including high voltage, and even love to repair and restore old tube based electronics using hundreds to thousands of volts along with deadly capacitors.
The difference is I learned the hard way early on; and thank God I didn't die, that high voltage is nothing to play with. It's something to be respected and never learn to feel too comfortable. That nervousness that keeps you on your feet also keeps you alive.
Only thing that has happened by accident lately was the 2 meter 10 watt RF tube based amplifier I made. I had a nest of wires on my workbench and went to test a power supply transformer by quickly wiring the mains plug to it with twisties. Went to pull my desk chair away from the bench and the power cord got caught in my chair wheel yanking it from the transformer and making the hot wire pop out touching the ground of the circuit. Fried nothing thankfully but made a loud enough pop to scare the hell out of me and everyone else in the house.