Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
PUT WRINKLES ON YOUR BRAIN
Get The Curiosity Box by Vsauce: curiositybox.com
Please don’t use a toaster in the bathtub. The combination of electricity and water will be too much for your heart. But why don’t fish have the same problem when lightning strikes the ocean? It’s basically the same thing.
It turns out that a combination of the properties of both electricity and bodies of water protect *most* fish from being cooked alive when lightning hits the ocean. Between electricity’s skin effect and the vast majority of fish not being near the surface, fish have to be in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time to suffer the effects of an electrical force or a major injection of heat.
It only takes about 100 milliamps of electricity to stop your heart, but even if you’re struck by lightning, chances are you’ll be fine -- just like 99.9999% of fish. And if fish are caught with their metaphorical pants down? Well, there’s just no one around to give them CPR or apply defibrillation to get their systems back to normal, unlike nearly all the victims of lightning strikes in the US.
But yeah, a toaster in the bathtub? Different story.
*** LINKS ***
Vsauce2:
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vsaucetwo
Twitter: twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Facebook: facebook.com/VsauceTwo
Talk Vsauce2 in The Create Unknown Discord: discord.gg/tyh7AVm
Hosted and Produced by Kevin Lieber
Instagram: instagram.com/kevlieber
Twitter: twitter.com/kevinlieber
Podcast: youtube.com/thecreateunknown
Research and Writing by Matthew Tabor
twitter.com/TaborTCU
Editing by John Swan
youtube.com/channel/UCJuSltoYKrAUKnbYO5EMZ2A
Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
etsy.com/shop/Craftality
Select Music By Jake Chudnow: youtube.com/user/JakeChudnow
Get Vsauce's favorite science and math toys delivered to your door!
curiositybox.com
Vsauce's Curiosity Box Store: curiositybox.com/collections/inqs-shop
#education #vsauce #science
PUT WRINKLES ON YOUR BRAIN
Get The Curiosity Box by Vsauce: curiositybox.com
Please don’t use a toaster in the bathtub. The combination of electricity and water will be too much for your heart. But why don’t fish have the same problem when lightning strikes the ocean? It’s basically the same thing.
It turns out that a combination of the properties of both electricity and bodies of water protect *most* fish from being cooked alive when lightning hits the ocean. Between electricity’s skin effect and the vast majority of fish not being near the surface, fish have to be in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time to suffer the effects of an electrical force or a major injection of heat.
It only takes about 100 milliamps of electricity to stop your heart, but even if you’re struck by lightning, chances are you’ll be fine -- just like 99.9999% of fish. And if fish are caught with their metaphorical pants down? Well, there’s just no one around to give them CPR or apply defibrillation to get their systems back to normal, unlike nearly all the victims of lightning strikes in the US.
But yeah, a toaster in the bathtub? Different story.
*** LINKS ***
Vsauce2:
TikTok: tiktok.com/@vsaucetwo
Twitter: twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Facebook: facebook.com/VsauceTwo
Talk Vsauce2 in The Create Unknown Discord: discord.gg/tyh7AVm
Hosted and Produced by Kevin Lieber
Instagram: instagram.com/kevlieber
Twitter: twitter.com/kevinlieber
Podcast: youtube.com/thecreateunknown
Research and Writing by Matthew Tabor
twitter.com/TaborTCU
Editing by John Swan
youtube.com/channel/UCJuSltoYKrAUKnbYO5EMZ2A
Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
etsy.com/shop/Craftality
Select Music By Jake Chudnow: youtube.com/user/JakeChudnow
Get Vsauce's favorite science and math toys delivered to your door!
curiositybox.com
Vsauce's Curiosity Box Store: curiositybox.com/collections/inqs-shop
#education #vsauce #science
