Also known as a “nope rope”
Cords
Submitted 8 months ago by Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net to [deleted]
https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/734b45cf-a4c5-4718-9004-15343b7f8c03.jpeg
Comments
wiccan2@lemmy.world 8 months ago
hihellobyeoh@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I thought that was a snake…
OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
I wouldn’t plug both ends of a snake into the mains either.
Pika@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
We call them a Deadman’s cable up here, and sadly they’re still quite frequently used in the northern rural areas because it costs almost $2,000 to have a dedicated bypass switch installed so nobody does it, they just throw the Main and hope they don’t put too much stress on the internal lines.
Is it legal? Hell no but they do it anyway
Omega_Jimes@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
I did this.
Is it stupid? Yes. Did it work? Also yes. For the amount of time that we’d have power out, it was just way to easy to throw a breaker and connect it like this just to keep a small heater and a light running. If I had the money at the time I would have loved battery backup/ bypass but this cost $2 and an old cord.
redditsucks_@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The lord chord
MudSkipperKisser@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Hymnnn
anonymous111@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I thought this was an anti homosexuality meme until I read the top comment.
I’ve got to stop using Lemmy. It is changing me…
volvoxvsmarla@lemm.ee 8 months ago
I too have developed into a very politically correct person with lemmy, I kinda miss being able to make gay jokes
Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
I guess you’re too straight edge for that.
Korne127@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Gay jokes as in just jokes making fun of gay people? Why do you miss making that? I can just tell you that especially when I was a gay kid, I would have wished no-one would make such.
merari42@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I heard there was a secret cord you plug it in to meet the lord But you don’t really care for safety, do ya? It goes like this, you plug it in, And in a flash, the lights go dim, The power’s gone, and now it’s running through ya.
AeonFelis@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You have been warned but you needed proof
You hanged some lighting on the roof
The spirit of the holiday overthrew you
You climbed up on a kitchen chain
You plugged the cord. It zapped your hair
And from your lips you trembled Hallelujahwandelblatt@lemmy.wtf 8 months ago
Beautiful
frigidaphelion@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Amazing, I got like two lines in on my own and gave up but you did it you beautiful mind
jawa21@lemmy.sdf.org 8 months ago
They very much do exist, though. Often used sketchily with generators.
superkret@feddit.org 8 months ago
How do you non-sketchily feed a generator’s power into your home?
thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
You get a qualified tradesperson to wire it properly into your electrical distribution.
SirDerpy@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Technical details and the social contract mandate that your generator is never connected to the main power grid. The generator should be wired to an enclosed AC transfer switch. This switch will connect either the generator or the main grid to your home, but never both.
Some detail: If the generator is wired to the main grid it can prevent restoration of main grid power. While an AC transfer switch will perform the task, many jurisdictions mandate additional safety precautions (which can be quite expensive).
Pika@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
The proper way of doing it is using what’s called a generator bypass switch, basically it’s a physical switch that runs before your fuse box, and it makes it impossible to have both the main and the generator being fed at the same time, so you can either have the main on or you could have the generator on. This prevents the electricity from your generator back feeding into the line and killing a line worker trying to restore power.
lefixxx@lemmy.world 8 months ago
There are electrical panel accessories that automatically isolate the house
Revan343@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
For the actual physical connection, you use a male receptacle
In order to do it legally, you also need the transfer switch, as has been mentioned.
frank@sopuli.xyz 8 months ago
The real way is a generator inlet, which is a male plug that’s interlocked with the main. So the cord ends up being a normal male/female cord
whoisearth@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
Lol this dude never turned hydro into diesel! Look at this guy!
vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
Modern inverters do this somewhat safely by sensing the phase before outputting power.
Of course, you can’t tell just by looking, so I still would steer clear of the whole thing on principle.
ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 8 months ago
grrgyle@slrpnk.net 8 months ago
Memories. Me and my friends used to zap eachother with these before social media made everyone into cowards
Entropywins@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It didn’t take the internet for people to be fearful and cautious around high voltage…
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
I’m guessing your turn was last and that’s why you’re still here.
ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 8 months ago
All I got to zap was myself.
Etterra@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Looks pretty weak sauce. I use jumper cables.
LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
I’m not American, Christmas lights aren’t a thing here like they’re in the US, can someone explain?
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Strand of exterior lights, one end male plug one female. Idiots start to mount the lights with the female end near their outlet. Get done, become confused, go to store for male to male cord to plug into female end.
The female end is for chaining multiple strands, not for supplying power (directly) from the power socket.
tyler@programming.dev 8 months ago
The power can go through the female end just fine, that’s not the problem. The problem is people plug this “suicide cable” into the wall first, thus creating a 120v taser of sorts. Like someone else in this thread said, the only problem from cables like that is people tend to try to backfeed energy into the system with a generator or solar panels. Boom.
AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
Isnt having an open end really dangerous?
LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Aaah, gotcha! Thank you!
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
A strand of christmas lights resembles an extension cord, but they tend to be made of smaller gauge wire and obviously have little sockets for tiny light bulbs spaced along them. They typically have 2-prong male plug on one end, often with a 2-prong female pass through on the back so you could plug more than one strand into the same receptacle, and they usually end in a female plug so they can be daisy chained.
Sometimes, when installing them on a house or something, the person installing them may not pay attention to which direction is which, and end up installing them so that the female-only end is near where they intended to plug them in. So instead of pulling them down, or running a long extension cord, they go to the hardware store looking for a male-to-male plug adapter.
Power plugs and sockets are gendered for a very good reason; the female receptacle keeps the energized contacts protected inside, and the male plug’s contacts should only be energized when plugged in and their outer shells protect them. A male-to-male cable when one end is plugged in and the other is free now has exposed mains current just waving around in the open air ready to kill someone. And, on a smaller note with christmas lights, they usually have a fuse built into the plug, and plugging them in backwards bypasses this for at least the first strand, so it’s technically 102.7% unsafe to do this.
The other thing a male-to-male adapter or cable is sometimes used for is to attach a portable generator to your home’s electrical system by just plugging it into an outlet, especially during a power failure. They do make what are essentially special male receptacles I think mainly for the RV industry for attaching generators like that, most houses won’t have these. Plugging it into a normal wall socket will actually work, but 1. you have bypassed the breaker panel, so the breakers no longer provide over-current protection. You could overheat the wires in the walls and burn down the house. 2. there’s a possibility that you’re feeding electricity to the entire house through the breaker box and even out to the transformer, which means the lines could be energized for linemen working on them. Throwing the main breaker might prevent that? They make switching gear designed for buildings with their own backup generators that can either manually or automatically sever their connection to the grid when on internal power, but again a doofus trying to make one of these cables probably doesn’t have one of those.
ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Outstanding, thank you for this
Mobile@leminal.space 8 months ago
Wow. I had no idea. Thank you for educating me.
youRFate@feddit.org 8 months ago
Their lights usually have a plug on one end and a socket on the other. Ppl put them around the exterior of their hoses, then realise they did it the wrong way, and the socket end is near the outlet they wanted to plug them in.
chetradley@lemmy.world 8 months ago
/But hardware stores don’t want to sell it tooooo youuu…/
tetris11@lemmy.ml 8 months ago
/…tooo ya…/
kamen@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Practical IQ test with binary result (“pass”/“fail”).
shalafi@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My dumbass made one by accident. Plugged it in, walked to the other end, picked it up to plug in my saw, “Shit. How did I throw the wrong end out here?” Whatever, we’ve all strung the extension cord backwards before. Here come the IQ test.
Walked to the other end of the cord, yanked it and threw that end back out into yard, plugged it in. Went back to my saw, “Oh for fuck’s sake!”
kamen@lemmy.world 8 months ago
bruh moment
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 8 months ago
as someone who has strung a ton of lights the wrong way around on more than one occasion… I can understand the desire for some magic solution that doesnt require undoing and redoing your work…
but fuck, You don’t mess around with electricity.
People also make these stupid suicide cables to plug generators into houses during disasters, often backfeeding power into the lines that may be down and can cause serious injury to workers trying to restore power.
Lizardking27@lemmy.world 8 months ago
FYI, you can just turn off the main breaker of the residence to prevent backfeeding into the power lines.
RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You can, but if forgetting to flip a switch can result in death, then you need a stronger safety control
brianorca@lemmy.world 8 months ago
If someone can’t make the own cord, what’s the chance they know how vital it is to flip the breaker?
MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
… Except the breaker only interrupts the connection on the “hot” line…
RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Yeah, there is a reason why proper installations require actual transfer switches or at least a manual interlock to prevent both feeds being connected at the same time. I’m also not sure what would happen if your generator was out of phase with the grid when it reenergised, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be good
MehBlah@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I’ve used a suicide cord before in some rare instances. When I was finished I immediately took it apart.
scottywh@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I used to use one to get power into my popup camper…
Entropywins@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You didn’t do it right…
FilthyShrooms@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Just use 2 paper clips and some duct tape, problem solved!
rugburn@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-4mvK2FW78
Plugging the cord in the same outlet isn’t dangerous itself, but the prongs will be live on the end that’s not plugged in, I’d suggest not touching them. Where it IS dangerous is when people try to use them with a generator to back feed their panel. Don’t do that.
qbus@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It’s also good to backfeed a generator into an outlet
Davidchan@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
On the one hand, there are legitimate uses for double ended male cords. On the other, absolutely none of those legit uses invovle christmas lights
zzx@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Okay but can we agree very very few uses besides generator hookup
roguetrick@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You gotta lick it after you plug it in so you know it’s working.
AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Teehee, it tingles!
yesman@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I don’t really get it. Sure, the exposed prongs would be energized once you plugged one side in, but if you plugged the other side into a second outlet (assuming you didn’t cross live/neutral), nothing would happen. (those two outlets were likely tied together anyway)
mipadaitu@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You don’t work around dangerous things assuming you’ll never make a mistake, you work around dangerous things assuming you’ll never make three mistakes at the same time.
You are not immune to making one (or more) mistakes, no matter how careful you think you are.
Foofighter@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
Well, maybe it’s because you may die if you accidentally touched touched the prongs? The purpose of female plugs is among other reasons to prevent accidentally touching them.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
In addition to the exposed prongs, it also means you are passing current into a circuit of unknown capacity without using a safety breaker. You may also be back feeding into your neighborhood power grid and can kill people in the street/other houses that were not expecting the lines to be energized.
Metype@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The problem really is the super exposed hot prong you now have one you plug one end in
Revan343@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
50-50 chance whether those two outlets are on the same phase or opposite faces; if it’s the latter, congrats, that’s a 240V short.
Besides, if there’s an outlet at the far end of your strong of lights, you don’t need this, you just plug it in there
brianorca@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Two things: 1: there’s a high chance you do cross live and neutral, or even live and live on different phases. 2: using it to plug in a generator to power your house can kill electrical workers who are trying to restore a power outage. (If you fail to open your circuit breaker.)
Davidchan@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
Double live is very bad and the cord becomes a literal short. If you’re lucky a breaker will flip or fuse burn out. If you’re not so lucky you have a cable thats either going to start a fire burning its insulation off and melting itself, or potentially exploding depending on quality and type of cable.
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Why would you “need” one of these if you could plug in the other end into a second outlet? The point is that idiots don’t plan out their christmas light layout and end up with the wrong end at the outlet. They decide that they would rather drive to the hardware store and buy/build a suicide cable rather then just taking the lights down and rehanging them or running an extension cord to where the male end of the lights are.
generichate1546@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
My old boss had one, for when power went out, he could back feed from his car to the house. I never touched it.
Mammothmothman@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
… but you don’t really care for logic do ya?
JPAKx4@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
So if these are people wiring their Christmas lights wrong, assuming these are led lights, doesn’t this “solution” not work bc of the polarity anyway? Or is that only a DC thing with diodes? I only did okay in my physics electricity stuff lol
CameronDev@programming.dev 8 months ago
You can also use them to test the voltage, similar to testing a 9v battery.
Lizardking27@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Tell me you’ve never used a generator without saying you’ve never used a generator.
Cobrachicken@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Darwin cable.
win95@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
Spectaculair give me 14 of them right now
drathvedro@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Fine, I’ll just use a couple of those with an ethernet coupler.
Etterra@lemmy.world 8 months ago
They tried calling it a doom cord, but heavy metal band started having electrical problems.
solsangraal@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
i guess if someone’s putting up their lights backwards, then it makes sense that that person also thinks it’s less work to drive to the hardware store and buy a non-existent extension cord than it is to just redo the lights
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 8 months ago
cries in ground fault circuit interruptor
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I worked at an electrical supply store foe a while. The amount of people trying to make these is really way too damn high. At least once a week.
Yeller_king@reddthat.com 8 months ago
I’m struggling to imagine what the use case would even be.
Sanctus@lemmy.world 8 months ago
But you dont really care about voltage, do ya?
kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I goes like this, on the the 25th, a minor shock? No, a mortal shift…
elvith@feddit.org 8 months ago
The baffled men are meeting now their maker.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!