What The Fluff Did I Do?

[Rodak]

Ya ever hear people tell stories about being the type who are often the one under the street light when it goes out?

It happens to me often.

I usually just blame my Aura or something and ignore it.

But Something inexplicable just happened.

I flipped a light switch, and the bulb flashed bright and went out.

Nothing weird there. Light bulbs are made in China these days and therefore pieces of crap.

But when I went to the next room the bulb there wasn't working.

I did a check and found EVERY LIGHT BULB IN THE HOUSE BURNT OUT! Even the fluorescent ones in the kitchen.

The power was fine.

I did not pop a single circuit breaker. There were computers and a VCR and even the Playstation on at the time and none show any signs of trouble at all.

The power never went out.

I just blew out every light bulb in the house (It's a free standing house... not connected to any neighbors {none of whom had anything effected}).

Anyone have any ideas WHAT THE FLUFF JUST HAPPENED???

[CajunGaijiin]

As the disciple and prophet of the Great and Powerful Murphy, I'd say that Murphy has chosen you to be a disciple too.............you poor ba*****!

[Neo Samurai]

Damn, man. That's quite a bit of bad luck there.

[NASH7777]

You have angered my God of light, Solareze!!!!!! Ask for forgiveness NOW!!!!

[Rodak]

I defy The Gods!!

I got plenty more Light Bulbs where they came from!

BRING IT ON GOD!!

You ain't Poop!

I gotcher Number right here, Lordy!

Is that all you got?

Huh?


(Boy I got nerve...)

[Doan the Nado]

Must've been a Power Surge or something...

[Rodak]

I have a good friend who finished electrician training stuff and got certified (but then took a job making stained glass windows... Bloody Artists!!) and he was here, checked out the fuse box with meters as a formality, but told me right off that this was impossible.

The bulbs are not all on the same circuit.

There were many bulbs whose switches were off.

There was no detectable problem with the circuitry.

Any surge strong enough to do that should have blown other stuff that was on at the time.

The bulbs were from all different times over the last 8 years.

The fluorescent tubes in the kitchen looked old when I arrived here that long ago.

I also had some of those funny curly low watt things, some normal bulbs, and bulbs in free lamps, ceiling mounts and even one in a work shop hangy-down thing.

There was no common denominator.


Is Mystery...

[CajunGaijiin]

I have some electrical training as well-I agree it's very strange. Did all the lamps that were knocked out have two-prong plugs? Was anything with a 3-prong plug affected?

[Rodak]

This is beyond strange.

The work shop hangy down thing was three pronged.

Some of my outlets are only two pronged anyhow.

The wall mounted stuff is properly grounded.

Oddly, the only light bulb to survive was the one in the microwave oven.

I think having a transformer between the outlet and the bulb shunted the surge... assuming there is a mundane explanation for this...

Oy.

[CajunGaijiin]

Um......I don't know dude. Do you believe in the paranormal?

[Rodak]

I don't believe in the Normal.

That only leaves the para-, super-, sub-, ab-, hyper-, hypo-, (and other prefixes) normal.

Bloody Reality...

You can have it!

Peace.

[CajunGaijiin]

Re-al-a-what?

There's a plethora of superparanatureormal explanations, UFOs, Poltergeist, Cheney......Take your pick.


I got censored by accident! The VPs name registers as a curse word! (I'd always suspected as much...)

[NASH7777]

Maybe somebody needed lightbulbs really bad so they went in your house and replaced all your good ones with their dead ones? Or even just for a prank...

[Jugem]

I'm going to take a different angle. The light bulbs didn't burn out. It is you (and your friend) that are hallucinating. Were you guys drinking and/or doing drugs?

[Rodak]

Nope.

Well, yes... but it was not the cause.

I switched bulbs in and out while replacing them and still have a couple to replace in fixtures of rooms I rarely use.

Even my outdoor bulb on the porch went.

This is High Weirdness of the Drug Free variety.

Peace.

[The Smurf]

Were you guys drinking and/or doing drugs?

Nope.

Well, yes... but it was not the cause.

hippies...

i dunno...that's really strange, Rodak...


-the smurf

[CajunGaijiin]

Hey Rodak. I sent your dilemma to an electrician on an internet site a couple weeks ago-I got a reply today:

"There is a lot of issue what might happen. I assumed that affected light bulbs that got burn were on, at the time when your friend flipped the switch. Most likely the reason with out knowing the details would be miss-wiring of the neutral (usually white) wire. In some particular situation when you miss wire or disconnect neutral wire various circuits in the house wiring may get 240V (not necessary all the outlets) and usually lighting circuits are separated from appliances what would explain why microwave was not affected."

Don't know if this helps or not. Peace.

[Rodak]

Thanks!

But I heard the same story from both my friend and a "Real" electrician.

The problem is that many lights were off.

I have several free standing lamps, plugged into wall sockets, which also went.

The Fluorescent bulbs, which were off, should have been safe.

I forgot to mention that the Refrigerator bulb survived too!

I took that for granted.

Oops.

Is Still Mystery...

Peace.