Sparks are flying

The household is under attack -- from nefarious surges of static electricity!

Over the last few days, I've been getting a shock -- an audible BZZZZT! sound with visible sparks of a light greenish/bluish tinge -- whenever I reach out to flip a switch in the house. At first, I thought it was some kind of malfunction with the switch or electricity somehow leaking out from the circuit and electrocuting me (hey, I never professed to be a scientist); but then The Fred, who actually studied electrical thingamajighoohaas and stuff in university, informed me that it was just static electricty surging upon contact.

Ah.

Now I know that often during the winter, when I'm touching metal door handles (especially on the outside of buildings) I often get a jolt of static electricity passing through me. Again, I'm no scientist, but I'm assuming that it's because of the really dry and cold winter air.

However, I've never been "shocked" inside my own home before. And never this many times.

Aside from every switch in the house, this evening I reached out for a metal pot handle to rearrange the pot on the counter and got a jolt with a spark -- a pot handle! What next? Will I be getting all charged up when I'm handling cutlery during meal times???

Metal objects in the house aren't the only source of these unpleasant jolts either. Last night, Pixie was wandering atop of The Fred's desk in the office and decided to nudge his hand which was hovering over the mouse with her nose to demand a pet and ...

... BZZZZT!!!!

It was a LOUD audible buzz and there were VISIBLE sparks. Yikes. Poor Pixie never knew what hit her.

Today when I got back home, Dante was circling around me in a sort-of mini zoomie, when at one point he lifted his head and tried to poke me in greeting like he usually does, when the tip of nose connected with my forearm and ...

(yep, you guessed it) ... BZZZZT!!!!

I yelped, and Dante was stunned into momentary stillness, slowly blinking his eyes in a bemused "Mum, what did you just go to me?????" look.

Later, after an invigorating walk and having forgotten about the earlier shock (yes, pun intended!) of being cattle-prodded by Dante's nose, of all things, I reached down to Dante to give him a sweeping "What a good boy!" stroke down the arch of his back and ...

...  BZZZZT BZZZZT BZZZZT BZZZZT BZZZZT BZZZZT!!!!!!

That's right, I received a SERIES of static electricity bursts, and Dante ... he was just dumbfounded.

At this rate I'll be a walking electrical conducter of some sort by the end of the week.

As it is, I've resorted to flipping switches with my (sleeved) elbow, and regard all shiny, metallic looking things with wretched suspicion and wariness of being shocked. But then there are the definite non-metallic "things" like dog and cat noses (so far!) ... it seems that there's just no way of being completely "safe" ...

Time to look into a humidifier for the house, perhaps ...!