Joe Tate’s Worst Shock

It happened some 26 years ago, knocking him off his ladder. Tate was working as a helper, installing an exit sign at a local business (he can’t remember which) when someone asked a question. He abruptly turned around and his hand grazed the dangling live wire, sending 277 volts through his body. Everything he ate for the next three days tasted like copper. “Over the years you really get used to the voltage,” he says. “But it still hurts if you get hold of a good one.”

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