The Comet's Flame

A freak accident occurred at Acme Engineering Co. when five newly-hired engineers and a whimsical creature were shocked by electricity on the job.

The engineers attempted to analyze a mysterious box-like electrical device without knowing that the box was actually home to former television sensation Barney the Dinosaur.

Investigators determined that the cause of the accident was due to faulty wiring in Barney’s “house.” The water pipes were found to be improperly grounded, resulting in a potential of several hundred volts (shown in the above diagram by the orange voltage source) as Barney reached for the water faucet on the kitchen sink with his left hand. Nearly simultaneously, Barney reached (with his right hand) for the toaster, which happened to have it’s ground connection shorted to the neutral wire of the mains supply (the yellow voltage source).

At this point, two of the engineers attempted to test the device by shorting the two terminals on the side. These terminals happened to be connected to a wall outlet in Barney’s house, which resulted in the following connection(s)…

Large amounts of current flowed through the shown closed loops, causing electrical shock to both the engineers and Barney.

A third engineer made the mistake of attempting to put Barney’s house in the microwave. This resulted in a fire (which was fortunately held in check by the emergency sprinkler system in the building).

A fourth engineer plugged the “Input” terminals into the Acme Engineering Company’s mains supply. This resulted in a painful shock and knocked out power for the entire building.

A fifth engineer repeated the unfortunate mistake of the first two engineers.

Acme Engineering’s hiring and safety practices are under investigation. Negligence on the company’s part is suspected.

Fortunately, no fatalities occurred. All involved parties were discharged from the hospital with little more than minor burns. Barney has decided not to press charges.