Joseph Patrick O'Malley is the name usually given for the man of Urban Legend who allegedly urinated on the high voltage third rail of a train track (or electric fence) and was electrocuted. The scientific plausibility of this danger was also the subject of a 2003 MythBusters episode on the Discovery Channel - they decided the myth was busted, noting a stream of urine breaks up into droplets and isn't continuous, therefore it can't conduct electricity.[1] [2] [3]
According to Snopes, the legend began with a photograph of a penis treated with short-wave diathermy accompanied by an erroneous description.[4]
In 2008 in London, a man was reported to have died from urinating on a live rail. [5]
Joseph Patrick O'Malley(1873-1961) is also the name of a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad accounting executive. He started with the company in Cleveland, Ohio in 1895. He worked for the railroad for forty-six years retiring in 1941[6]. He retired holding the position of assistant comptroller of the railroad. In 1938, he worked with a budget deficit that was reported to be $13, 124,530[7]. O'Malley was also a resident of Baltimore, Maryland from 1902-1941 while employed at the railroad. In 1930, he lived at 326 University Parkway in the city[8].
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