HouseholdHacker



  • http://www.householdhacker.com/?p=12

     

    TRWTF here isn't that there is no overt indication that the projects on this site are hoaxes and almost completely unfounded in the principles of physics or chemistry. Oh no, TRWTF is that if you post a comment on the website explaining how short-circuiting alkaline batteries can lead to chemical burns, fires, and damaged electronics, the comment will be promptly removed by the moderators. These people want the general public to try these ludicrous "experiments," and my guess is that they're doing it for laughs, despite their "disclaimer." 90% (or more, probably) of the people who will see these videos will believe them, and probably 20% of those who do will try.

    I would find these projects humorous if they acknowledged that they are complete hoaxes.
     



  • I don't really care. If people dont grasp electricity even at its most basic level, and think voices somehow "float" trough the air.

    And besides its not even all that dangerous, sure the batteries will start to leak at some point, but its not like minutes or anything. And unless you start sniffing up the fumes, or start licking it, or using it as a lotion, its pretty much harmless.



  • @stratos said:

    I don't really care. If people dont grasp electricity even at its most basic level, and think voices somehow "float" trough the air.

    And besides its not even all that dangerous, sure the batteries will start to leak at some point, but its not like minutes or anything. And unless you start sniffing up the fumes, or start licking it, or using it as a lotion, its pretty much harmless.

     

    <shrug/>

     

    Maybe I just have an overdeveloped IEEE Code of Ethics gland. 



  • I think only people who are garage tinkering aficionados in the first place are likely to try this, and all of those will immediately understand this is a joke.  I mean, it's a remote control, salad bowl and duct tape ;_;



  • @PerdidoPunk said:

    @stratos said:

    I don't really care. If people dont grasp electricity even at its most basic level, and think voices somehow "float" trough the air.

    And besides its not even all that dangerous, sure the batteries will start to leak at some point, but its not like minutes or anything. And unless you start sniffing up the fumes, or start licking it, or using it as a lotion, its pretty much harmless.

     

    <shrug/>

     

    Maybe I just have an overdeveloped IEEE Code of Ethics gland. 

     
    Well in the end the people who try it might learn something. So perhaps those guys are just doing a community service.

     
    Now the fake(?) anarchist cookbook, where they (among other things) explain it's safe to put your hands in gasoline and light it, to get magic burning hands. Because only the gasoline will burn (at first).
    Now that's cruel. 

     

    -edit-

    @above

    well ducttape DOES  keep the universe together.



  • @PerdidoPunk said:

    I would find these projects humorous if they acknowledged that they are complete hoaxes.

    Essentially, this is just another type of troll. Rather than making forum/usenet posts to get a response, they publish false advice, to waste people's time, maybe even get them injured, and then have them coming to their forums to complain so they can just laugh.

    Also, people are more willing to complain than compliment. By posting bad experiments, they get just as much web exposure (from sites that repost 'cool stuff' without checking), and MORE forum views from complainants. All those forum views count as ad views, which means MORE MONEY for the trolls.

    I had something similar when I was a kid, a book with various 'cool' things, like drilling a hole in a pin using a needle. Even then I could tell they'd be rather more difficult to get to work than the book made out.


     Now the fake(?) anarchist cookbook, where they (among
    other things) explain it's safe to put your hands in gasoline and light
    it, to get magic burning hands. Because only the gasoline will burn (at
    first).
    Now that's cruel.

    I think it works with ethanol, maybe even a small amount of petrol, as long as you are young enough to not have absorbing hairs on your hands and arms. Am not going to try it though, same as I'm not going to try dipping my hands in liquid nitrogen - the LN vapourises and creates a gas layer around your hand, preventing the liquid from contacting. At first.



  • @stratos said:

    I don't really care. If people dont grasp electricity even at its most basic level, and think voices somehow "float" trough the air.

    And besides its not even all that dangerous, sure the batteries will start to leak at some point, but its not like minutes or anything. And unless you start sniffing up the fumes, or start licking it, or using it as a lotion, its pretty much harmless.

    Just as long as they don't extrapolate that to lithium cellphone batteries... Theres a lot of fun in shorting a cellphone battery:P



  • @PerdidoPunk said:

    http://www.householdhacker.com/?p=12

     

    TRWTF here isn't that there is no overt indication that the projects on this site are hoaxes and almost completely unfounded in the principles of physics or chemistry. Oh no, TRWTF is that if you post a comment on the website explaining how short-circuiting alkaline batteries can lead to chemical burns, fires, and damaged electronics, the comment will be promptly removed by the moderators. These people want the general public to try these ludicrous "experiments," and my guess is that they're doing it for laughs, despite their "disclaimer." 90% (or more, probably) of the people who will see these videos will believe them, and probably 20% of those who do will try.

    I would find these projects humorous if they acknowledged that they are complete hoaxes.
     

     

    The point of a hoax is that you don't know that it is. However if they tell you to do something dangerous, then it should be marked. Battery can give nasty chemical burns, I would not want to lead someone to burn their skin off, thats just plain ol' unethical. (and the pope blames us atheists for being unethical, humbug i say!) 



  • @seaturnip said:

    I think only people who are garage tinkering aficionados in the first place are likely to try this, and all of those will immediately understand this is a joke.  I mean, it's a remote control, salad bowl and duct tape ;_;

     

    A shiny metal salad bowl can act as an antenna. HOWEVER the remote control does not pick up or process cellphone signals/encryption. In fact remote controls only SEND I.R. beams, so anyone dumb enough to think that a sender can receive deserves their remote broken. 




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