Not the sharpest knife in the draw

[Meso]

A North Carolina teenager who decided the best way to cool his Xbox's overheating power supply was to stick it in a bowl of water was knocked unconcious by the resulting electric shock and earned himself a trip to hospital with "minor burns to his right hand and foot".

According to local news reports, the 14-year-old Brevard youth was having a spot of bother with his console which would shut down every five minutes. His mum told the press he "thought the problem was likely linked to overheating" and duly "tried to fix it on his own based on tips he found online".

This apparently involved wrapping the offending power supply in plastic and tape and dunking it in said bowl "while it was still plugged in". His mother explained: "When I left to go next door he was playing a game but when I got back he was laying on his back on the floor and unconscious."

The young man was subsequently detained overnight at the local Transylvania Community Hospital.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/24/xbox_teen/

[O Town]

Definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.
And what idiot on line is telling kids to do this?

[Cyclone1]

There's a lesson there... Don't buy an Xbox.

[tropicana]

i would have thought common sense would have told him otherwise. Ah well, hopefully he will recover just fine.

-justin-

[fasterdisaster]

We'll be seeing him in the next Darwin Awards.

[DanKellFla]

[brunota2003]

xP...of course it happens to someone from my state, go figure...Water conducts electricity people...Water + Electricity + Person = Ouch (or worse) Why people think they are above the laws of physics is beyond me...

[Category 5]

This is one of the most boneheaded errors I've ever heard.

[RL3AO]

We'll be seeing him in the next Darwin Awards.

Nope. Darwin awards are only for those who are dead, or sterile.


The red ring of death strikes another xbox 360...and then the kid goes and probably overrides the warranty.

[TexasStooge]

There's a lesson there... Don't buy an Xbox.

Or if you do buy an Xbox, don't play it so darn often.