My father's circuit worked just as it was supposed to. But, oddly, when he returned to class he did not see his friend for three consecutive days.

After three days, his friend came back...with an eye patch. The friend was subsequently forced to explain what had happened.

Although yes, his circuit did work well when he first constructed it, something else mustn't have. For, soon after the circuit was up and running, he decided to put the electrolyte capacitor in backwards. Unfortunately for him, these capacitors will only work in one direction, and it's not backwards. Moreover, the electrolyte used was oil. The electricity finally built up in the capacitor with nowhere to go, and eventually this made a spark in the oil.

Boom! Tiny shards of oily metal lodged deeply in the friend's eye.

And so, after hours of surgery, the doctors managed to remove every shard of metal.

Curiosity kills more than a cat.

Submitted on 02/25/2007

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: 1969

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Yep, gotta love those vintage 60s electronic components! Anyway, an amusing enough PA about a dilletante tinkerer who learned circuitry the HARD way! I wonder...was he STARING at the circuit the whole time it wasn't working?!

Chip said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Another high school lab experiment goes awry. No wonder mad scientist stories are so common. Thanks for the amusing story.

Graham said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I am ashamed to admit it, but I did a smilar thing myself at school - except I plugged the capacitor directly into the wall! The explosion was phenomenal and I escaped with only bits of paper and oil on my face. I can relate to this story 100%

Tracy said:
Neutral: Personal Account
There's always one, isn't there? Ooh, what happens if......

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Much better than the usual high school experiment gone wrong storie. Thanks.