By Darkandcold - 09/01/2013 19:23 - United Kingdom - Exeter

Today, my dad learned that it's possible to power a lightbulb with a potato. Since then, he's been going around the house removing all the plugs from the wall and plugging them into potatoes instead. He's absolutely baffled as to why it won't work. FML
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Same thing different taste

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Top comments

lilhellian 26

Pft potatoes only go so far.. Now bananas...

209 5
FlamingTacos 7

Potatoes might be able to conduct electricity, but flaming tacos can do so much more.

147 4

Comments

outoftown 26

Why people should finish school BEFORE they have kids.

8 1
Cathrin 26

The 1.5 volts a potato generates is enough to power a superintelligent AI. He's on the right track.

8 1
StanSmith2013 26

People, people! Stop being so abusive towards OPs father! A man learns not through reading guides and manuals but through trial and error!

14 0
cjrand 7

don't tell him its cuzz of the electrolytes... he might start dipping them in gatorades

6 1
Dnigz13 4

Atleast he isn't some grouchy or boring dad, IDE enjoy watching my father plug everything into potatoes all day in fact IDE probably end up helping him try to get it to work haha

0 0
dan_in_wi 12

how many idiots does it take to turn on a light bulb?

0 1
StephenStills 6

Potato power? What is this sorcery...

5 0
Chazzzor 10

It just goes to show that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! (1) The potatoe, lemon, pickle, etc is only the conductive media. The energy comes from the chemical energy from the dissimilar metals that are inserted in the media and their reaction. (2) These are batteries - meaning they give DC power, not AC like your house current. (3) A potatoe or pickle battery with copper and zinc electrodes gives only around 1 Volt at a low current - probably less than 1/10 Watt maximum under the best case. Your appliances take 100's of Watts at a specific Voltage and AC frequency. The good thing is that besides looking dumb, it is impossible to damage your appliances this way - nothing happens at all.

2 1
DanielleinDC 33

Okay, Dan Quayle, it's time for a spelling lesson. Potato, singular, does not have an "e". Only when it's plural does it have an "e". You know, I probably would have tried the same thing myself and been mildly disappointed that it's only a light bulb that works.

1 2
ideasrule 13

An incandescent light works perfectly fine, with absolutely no modifications, with both DC and AC. A LED works even better with DC as long as the polarity is right, because it can only pass current in one direction. Only a fluorescent can't use DC, because the starting ballast expects to convert 60 Hz AC into high-frequency AC and the capacitors are all designed for AC.

0 0
carnage45567 10

Haha that's hilarious get a few laughs and give your old man a science lesson

0 0