Talk:Wilfred Gowthorpe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] A theory regarding Mr Gowthorpe's burns

Electric shock (termed "electrocution" in the article - note that electrocution is death by electric shock) was discounted in the article on the grounds that a shock enough to burn two fingers would certainly kill him. I can, however, easily imagine a situation where he could have caused such damage by electricity.

Imagine he had removed a faulty light globe from an overhead fitting, and noted something within the light socket (perhaps a bug or bit of fluff). He may have decided to use his small finger to clear the socket. If the socket was live (the light switch was "on") he could have made contact between the active and neutral conductors and allowed a current to flow either across his small finger or between that and another finger, causing significant burning.

A person suffering such an injury may think themselves excessively foolish and fail to report the true cause.