Never trust people that say things are off

[Jess--]

I was recently working on a TV for a friend, found the fault and worked out a cost of parts to put it right (he was a friend so I wasnt going to charge for my time) and he decided that it was not worth repairing... fair enough.

so I put the back cover on and then he says could I pinch the mains lead from it as I need some mains wire.

So I grab my wire cutters and ask him "Is it turned off" (not wanting to cut a mains lead with 240v ac on it)
he has a quick look at the plug and the TV and says.. "Yeap its all off"
the next thing I remember is a huge blue/green flash and a loud bang.
I shouted at him "I though you said this F******G thing was off"
his response... "Oh you meant off at the plug, I thought you meant on the front"

end result one melted pair of cutters (he's replacing them) and one person that now checks the power is off... and then checks the power really is off.

[ChadTower]

Yes, people are tremendously stupid.

[2600]

Yes, people are tremendously stupid.

Which one were you talking about?

[SirPeale]

Technically, HE was correct.  The power was off.  You didn't ask him if it was unplugged.

Guy I work with asked me to plug something into an outlet once.  I looked in the back, at the wall (where an outlet would be) and told him there wasn't one.  He said "well, there was one there a second ago!" so I looked again, back and forth...no outlet.  Turns out he was talking about an *extention cord*.  I had seen the cord, but didn't look closely at it because I thought it was the cord to another machine.

It's not stupidity, per se, it's all about perception.

[stratjakt]

Duh, of course.

If some dude tells you "yeah, I turned off the circuit breaker" you still check with your little neon probe before you start wiring up the new hot water heater.  It's just common sense.

At least thats what I told the plumber when he started yelling at me.  As if it's my fault the previous homeowner labelled the circuit breakers wrong.  (HVAC<>Hot Water)

[ericball]

If some dude tells you "yeah, I turned off the circuit breaker" you still check with your little neon probe before you start wiring up the new hot water heater.