overrated story, yeah, it's not a good idea but more than likely, the girl would have gotten burned fingers before she got shocked. Electricity follows the path of least resistance and the current would have gone through the penny rather than the girl, possibly popping the breaker before the penny could heat up much. probably a few sparks as well. it's like the old trick of finding which breaker the outlet is on, use a piece of wire in the outlet, it sparks a bit but doesn't shock you before the breaker pops. if the girl was barefoot and standing in water. then yeah, she is going to get shocked. sneakers; not a chance.
I put a paper fastener in an outlet and it just got hot.
I think people tend to exaggerate the dangers of electricity for control over others. Yes , electricity is dangerous but it is also very useful. should a kid be putting a penny on the cord's prongs, No, but they overstated the dangers of what she did. It would also depend on where the receptacle was located, Bathroom, kitchen, it would possibly be a GFCI outlet that would trip if a tiny current ended up going to ground. but alas, I'm no expert (not due to lack of training) so I'm just basically rambling. lol
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