Sharks and batteries, part one. I knew I had heard this before! 2 Oct 2023

[niyad]

at a campaign stop in Iowa. TikTok has the video, and it was covered by the Indeoendent, HuffPo, Daily Mail and more. And here on DU.

So my question is, is it worse that this insanity is a rerun, or would it be worse if this were a new manifestation?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Boat batteries are rarely hazards in sinkings. Have you heard of a drowning due to electrocution?

I think it can happen so it probably has happened somewhere some time, but I've never heard of one. Fundamentally, the loss of a boat due to sinking is the key, not any electrocution hazard. If a boat sinks in the ocean with sharks around, it matters less that there is electricity than that there are sharks and no boat.

An electric boat can have a lot of current capacity in its battery. We are not talking about a standard car battery in a small pleasure craft, but potentially batteries in electric propulsion systems of up to, say, 30 foot boats (larger boats would have more extensive counter measures and safety measures). As I understand things (correct me if need be), for there to be a serious hazard in a sinking (about the same as a shark attack), some conditions have to be met.

* Fresh water, not salt water. Sharks and animals that would prey on humans are only in salt water (disregarding special cases like pirhanas). Salt water is an excellent conductor of electricity, so it flows preferentially around the body. In fresh water, the body is a better conductor, so some portion would flow through the body, but that would involve only a small fraction of the electric field. In fresh water, it has to travel through a lot of low-conductivity water before it gets to the body.

* Sharks don't tend to follow boats unless operators are careless about throwing chum and guts into the water.

* No fault interrupter in the battery or the battery is not sealed. Tiny sealing failures would only allow a tiny current out because they would be tiny compared to the battery terminals which must carry much more current. I think (I don't know) proper battery design and manufacture would include a fault interrupter so that if current exceeds limits it get shut down. Like a last resort fuse.

* Nearness to boat: Needed distance increases with current. Not much field beyond 15 feet but would be larger for propulsive systems. Being "near" would mostly give tingling sensations or interfere to some extent with muscle activity.

* Jumping into the water and not a lifeboat.

* Leaving the boat late in the sinking after water has entered the battery compartment.

For electrocution to occur, there has to be sufficient current (measured in milli-Amperes). Anything that minimizes the current helps.

Regardless, don't swim in marinas near boats. Besides icky fuel sheens on water, there is a hazard with faulty boats and faulty electrical connections to the docks.

[agingdem]

2. Everything he spewed was rerun with four exceptions...

Rerun: teleprompter/batteries/boats/sharks/immigrants/jobs/Black jobs/Biden/MIT/crowd size/election loss threat/J6 "hostages"/nuclear weapons

New:
*garbled "military"...
*denied (lied) he called fallen soldiers "losers" and "suckers"...
*he never went to the cemetery
*he unwittingly referred to himself as "psycho"/crazy person/"stupid person"

[NanaCat]

3. Don't forget 'fake news'

He seems to be giving the 'hoax' and 'sir' stories a rest for now, but I'm sure he'll recycle them, sooner or later.

[Celerity]

4. Donald Trump: Batteries versus Sharks

[ornotna]

10. That was pretty good

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Enough of his brain remains...

…operative to allow his mouth to play whatever bits of dialogue it can recognize from the very few remaining engrams in his 1-book library of a mind.

[hatrack]

6. What about toilets? What about showers?

Most of all, what about Big Strong Men With Tears In Their Eyes Saying "Sir"?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. This made me smile

Link to tweet

[niyad]

8. Thank you so much for sharing this!

[Kid Berwyn]

9. The Roots of Historic Gibberish

Beyond “I Stink the Body Electrolysis” pale (with apologies to Bradbury).

[niyad]

12. . . .

[Emile]

11. Trump insanity

[niyad]

13. That is hilarious.

[Conjuay]

14. Forgive me for the'That's not what he meant' moment, but...

I think he meant lithium -ion batteries - as is 'electric' boats. We've all seen L-I cars burn pretty damn well, and he is pushing for/by the fossil fuel industry .
As for 'regular' 12V boat batteries they can't electrocute you, both too little amperage, and too low voltage.

[niyad]

15. I think you are giving him far too much credit.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Oh yes - odd how sometimes his insane ramblings go viral, and sometimes not

The Oct thread: https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016365007

I still say the worse crap that he came up with this time was the bullshit just before, about boats having to travel 70 miles before they're allowed to go faster than 2 knots - see EarlG's transcription: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219025799

It's no nearer reality than "death by shark", but it is trying to make stupid people think boats are being, or will be, regulated out of existence.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. The perfect necktie for President Biden to wear when he debates Trump in a couple of weeks

Link to tweet

[niyad]

18. Ohhhhhh, I love it. But I think elderly convicted felon will get out of the

debate with some absolutely brilliant excuse!