Posted By John J There seems to be an increasing number of accident Christmas top tens that list xx number of people a year die from testing 9v batteries on their tongues. Is their any evidence for this and what would be the mechanism of death? John

Posted By holmezy John, I have questioned this claim many times, usually over a pint or 2 with other sceptical people! Most people I spoke to could remember doing this at school at some point. Others remember being coerced into doing it by the Physics teacher, probably in the same lesson that involved the class holding hands and forming a circuit attached to a Van Der Graaf generator and seeing everyone suffer the "tingles" and "erect hair". A Doctor (medical not scientific) friend of mine did tell us that it would be "theoretically" possible for a person to die from the current generated by the 9v battery, however, they would have to have a pre existing, but not necesarily diagnosed, heart condition. The current could "theorectically" upset the natural rythym of the heart to such an extent that it stopped beating. The majority of these "theoretically" susceptable people would re-start their heart naturally when the current is removed and happily recover with no long term effects. A minority of susceptable people may have trouble "kick starting" their heart and may suffer the ultimate fate. Unfortunately, the Doctor couldnt offer any proof in terms of numbers etc. So, it could and may happen, but then again it might be a myth. I'd be interested to find out though. Sorry not been any great help, just offered another theory that may or may not be true. Holmezy

Posted By Jane Blunt I think you have hit the nail on the head there, Paul. Electricity will find the path of least resistance, which is clearly through the tongue and its wet surface. I cannot believe that any electric current of any significance or any potential difference of any significance will reach the heart. Jane

Posted By Rich E I've heard this a number of times and it appears on lots of 'lists' of obscure ways to die. The question of the shock affecting the heart is probably a bit of a red herring. A more plausible explanation is one that you could swallow your tongue and choke to death. Whether anyone has ever actually died I have never found out, but it would only take one death to start the story, and the most unlikely things do happen to people all the time.

Posted By AlB Came accross this on the internet. Makes sense in this context: "In 1999 a US Navy safety publication describes injuries incurred while doing don't's. One page described the fate of a sailor playing with a multimeter in an unauthorized manner. He was curious about the resistance level of the human body. He had a Simpson 260 multimeter, a small unit powered by a 9-volt battery. That may not seem powerful enough to be dangerous… but it can be deadly in the wrong hands. The sailor took a probe in each hand to measure his bodily resistance from thumb to thumb. But the probes had sharp tips, and in his excitement he pressed his thumbs hard enough against the probes to break the skin. Once the salty conducting fluid known as blood was available, the current from the multimeter travelled right across the sailor's heart, disrupting the electrical regulation of his heartbeat. He died before he could record his Ohms."

Posted By garyh But again, I ask, how does the current track to the heart when the battery terminals on the tongue are 2cm apart, bathed in a nice electrolyte (saliva)?

Posted By GeoffB4 garyh - we're obviously in a minority! I find it difficult to believe that this is being discussed seriously.

Posted By Kevin Coghill I've just taken the 9V battery out of my Xmas radio controlled Dalek (yes it is mine!) and in a moment of boredom diced with death by licking the battery. The fact that I am still able to type this reponse might suggest something.... I am now off to put said battery back and carry on "exterminating" the cat!

Posted By Martin Forbes Im just speculating here but here i go anyway, Ok electricity travels to earth via the path of least resistance. Im guessing you all know that. What if you are touching a metal pole with your hand and place a battery on your tongue. Wouldnt the current travel from your tongue pass your heart along your arm and travel down the pole? Dunno, i mean ive heard of ppl dying while putting on their socks also. It may be that the deaths are not caused by the battery itself, but the battery on the tongue was the cause. I.e. person sticks a battery on their tongus, jumps back in shock, trips over something and falls on their neck?

Posted By garyh Once again, the presence of any earthing or conducting surface is irrelevant, the battery terminals are 2cm apart and the current will much more readily pass from one to the other rather than travel 1 meter plus through your body!! I hope some of you people don't get asked to do risk assessments re batteries. good job there is no chance of Jeremy Clarkson reading this...................

Posted By garyh See above - the answer logically must be no, since if the current can't track across the heart it can't affect the pacemaker unless it was in the tongue!!

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Perhaps while testing it on their tongue they accidentally swallowed and choked on it? Like GaryH, I'm struggling to think of an electrical reason, so the answer must be more obvious, or it's a made up statistic. I can see it now... After too much Port and Christmas pud, Kev starts sucking his Dalek power pack to disprove something he read on a safety website when - Bang! Some distant family member sneaks up behind him with a party popper, startling Kev who then chokes and an urban myth is born. (Note - no actual H&S Practitioners were harmed during the creation of this hypothetical scenario.)

Posted By jom I can't believe this is being discussed at all. Kevin put this stupid myth to bed by walking the talk. Go, Kev. I've got my 9v battery on my tongue and I'm fi

Posted By MP Grayson Eh. Sorry moderators, I seem to be having an issue with one of my computers. Could you please ditch my last post above please. Its all question marks and squiggles. Thanks. For the rest, just a heads up. Don't forget that it will soon be illegal to dump your 9v batteries in the bin when you've all finished getting yer tongues tizzled. Crack on.