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Teen sticks Xbox 360 power supply in bowl of water

Result? Hospital for Darwin Award near-miss

Published Friday 24th August 2007 10:15 GMT

A North Carolina teenager who decided the best way to cool his Xbox's overheating power supply was to stick it in a bowl of water was knocked unconcious by the resulting electric shock and earned himself a trip to hospital with "minor burns to his right hand and foot".

According to local news reports, the 14-year-old Brevard youth was having a spot of bother with his console which would shut down every five minutes. His mum told the press he "thought the problem was likely linked to overheating" and duly "tried to fix it on his own based on tips he found online".

This apparently involved wrapping the offending power supply in plastic and tape and dunking it in said bowl "while it was still plugged in". His mother explained: "When I left to go next door he was playing a game but when I got back he was laying on his back on the floor and unconscious."

The young man was subsequently detained overnight at the local Transylvania Community Hospital. ®

Bootnote

Thanks to Danny Caldwell for the tip-off.

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