Can the 9 volt lick test kill you?

[Solarmist]

How about the stuff that oozes out of a 9v battery after it has sat around for a few years, that stuff is the worst to get on your tongue BLAHH!!

Yuk! - who would ever use a battery in that condition let alone lick the battery excrement.

 

[warnergt]

I can't find it now but I once read that the lowest voltage
known to have killed a person was like 40-50 volts.

 

[Tsal]

A current that passes through the heart might kill, even though it isn't particularly powerful. So tongue, no problem, thumbs, bad idea. Of course, having a heart condition might speed things along.

Even strong current that passes through the heart doesn't always kill.. depends on the electric phase of the heart, if it sends your heart fibrillating. IIRC the chance was something like 33%.

Fortunately for everyone, and not just 9v-licking bassists, the automatic defib devices are becoming more commonplace in shops and offices.

 

[Bloodhammer]

How many of you remember the Presto hot dog cookers? You essentially pierced each end of the weiner on opposing electrode "skewers", closed the lid, and (with a nod to The Green Mile), "roll on two!" The dogs tasted terrible and you had to have court-appointed witnesses before operating.

Riis

I've never seen one so I had to look it up. HOLY ****!!! Basically all it does is run 120v straight from the wall through your dog?! I wonder how many amps a hotdog draws?

Presto Weenie Electrocuter - YouTube

This is the real deal. My parents had one of these dangerious machines in the '60s....Many years later, I tried with DC. which tended to polarize the dog resulting in different taste from one end to the other.

And as far as the OP goes, that tingle on your tongue is the battery licking you back.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Can the 9 volt lick test kill you?

No, unless (as others have pointed out) you swallow the battery.

A fresh 9V battery does have quite a "bite" when you touch its terminals briefly to your tongue, but it's harmless.

 

[Jay2U]

A current flowing through the brains causes one to play bass.

 

[Ubersheist]

battery excrement.

I think my band just found it's new name. Thanks!

 

[Strohsx]

Hey man it's not the 9v that kills you it's that killer 0.5 amp.

 

[PSPookie]

I can honestly say the thought of licking a battery to test it has never crossed my mind.

Were you in a coma through childhood or something?