Lickers vs. Non-lickers
Today, LookyDaddy wondered aloud (that’s what I think Twitter is, basically) if people have tried licking a 9 volt battery. It seemed unfathomable to me that there exists in this world a person who hasn’t licked a 9 volt battery. So, I responded with the following:
Eventually, lists were created: lickers and non-lickers.
This reminded me of the something that happened to a friend of mine awhile back and by “friend” I, of course, mean me. I was sitting in my car and, as I was getting ready to connect my iPod to the iTrip (plugged into the cigarette lighter thingamabob), it slipped from my hand and into my coffee. I couldn’t connect it to my iPod covered in coffee. So, I instinctually put it into my mouth. I licked it. I sucked it. I shocked the hell out of my tongue.
Tonight, Luisa and I were talking about this and she was arguing that no one would put the live end of an iTrip into his or her mouth. I think she knows nothing about human nature and I think she might be a tad jealous of my level head in a crisis. So, I said I was going to turn it over to the fine readers of this blog.
1)Are you a 9 volt licker or no?
2)How would you have handled the Great iTrip Crisis of 2009?
Posted: November 12th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Comments
Comment from Meredith
Time November 12, 2009 at 9:46 pm
To answer:
1: Reformed licker. Been off the 9volts for, what? 20 years? Maybe more.
2: We have 3,258 napkins in our glove compartment. If I was at a light or parked, would have gone for the napkins. But if I was driving I totally would have done the same thing you did!
Comment from Missy
Time November 12, 2009 at 11:05 pm
1. Repeated licker. amazing sensation, metalic, hurty, yet alive!
2. Instinct to lick. Yep.
Also, I am jealous because our car outlets have stopped working. Not willing to pay what they want to look into it though. I wonder what they would charge for a test lick?
Comment from angelina
Time November 12, 2009 at 11:32 pm
1) used to be a licker, until I chickened out – now I’m too scared to do it.
2) probably would’ve licked the iTrip thingy without thinking… Yeah, could absolutely see myself doing that. *sigh*
Comment from Kelly
Time November 13, 2009 at 12:13 am
I might have to go back to Starbucks coffee if it’s good enough to lick it off a live electrical wire.
Comment from Emily
Time November 13, 2009 at 12:46 am
1. I only lick if I already know it is very weak, but really I’m still scared of the shock.
2. I would have gone for the reflexive lick/suck.
In my restaurant job days I had to fight the urge to slurp a customers overflowing drink (ICEE is the worst) and I’ve seen someone reach into a hot fryer to catch something they dropped.
Comment from Anthony
Time November 13, 2009 at 1:03 am
I’m going to have to say “No” on both counts. Honestly, it has never occurred to me to lick a 9-volt. Call me square or unadventurous, but I haven’t done it. As for the iTrip, I’d have to say no to that, too. Not saying that I’ve always made the best choices for what I’ve put in my mouth, but suffice it to say that the danger of shock was not present.
Comment from GreenWeaver
Time November 13, 2009 at 6:54 am
1. Licker. Once-a-year to change the fire alarm batteries.
2. I’m having trouble imagining the extent of the dripping. I think it might have gone to the mouth with enough excess dripping coffee, perhaps followed by sleeve wipe.
Comment from Katherine
Time November 13, 2009 at 8:55 am
1. Licker. I don’t know if I did it on my own or if one of my brothers made me do it.
2. If I had fancy gadgets for my car I could imagine myself licking the coffee off the fancy gadgets. But I now rarely drive and refuse to place anything in my mouth when I am riding the bus.
Comment from meg
Time November 13, 2009 at 9:08 am
1. YES. Not recently, but ALL the time as a kid. I think it’s like the candle wax question…what kid hasn’t dripped candle wax on their hand to cool and then pealed off the hand mould?
2. I don’t know what an iTrip is, but I routinely lick coffee and juice off cords, headphones, etc. I mean, I’m not stupid enough to WASH them in the sink, so what’s my other option really?
Comment from leigh
Time November 13, 2009 at 9:39 am
off the top of my head i can’t picture a 9 volt…but i would only lick the end of a battery if it needed a little help connecting and i would unplug anything before i put it in my mouth (for gods sake!) 
Comment from Shelly
Time November 13, 2009 at 10:57 am
1) Did that. Currently in recovery
2) Would have probably done what you did, if I knew what an iTrip was.
Comment from Amy
Time November 13, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I am no on both counts. I have never heard of anyone licking a 9 volt battery. This is new to me. My car must resember Merediths b/c we also have a bizillion napkins that I likely would have used.
Comment from Jenn
Time November 13, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Would never have occurred to me to lick. Never heard of this bizarro phenomenon.
Would have used napkins or my pants or my jacket for the mop up after the coffee incident.
This is the most fascinating poll I have seen in a long time. Srsly, yo.
I STILL don’t have the urge to lick a battery. Or anything starting with a lowercase ‘i’.
Comment from MB
Time November 13, 2009 at 5:12 pm
No licking of batteries. My natural instinct probalby would have been to wipe the iTrip on something…and since I have a messy car with lots of stuff in it, I would have found something that would work. But I agree with Meg, I did like to drip cancel wax on my hands as a kid and peel it off.
Comment from Christa
Time November 13, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Licker on several occasions when I was little. Guess I wanted to see if I would always get the same reaction.
I would totally lick coffee off the iTrip. A) it’s dripping coffee and licking is always the solution and B) you’re saving an ingenious gadget. It’s win/win!
Comment from leigh
Time November 13, 2009 at 5:53 pm
i guess i missed the second question – if i have it corretly if it were dripping coffe yes i would lick it to get it from dripping on me…i am not sure what an iTrip is … but if coffe were to have dripped on my cell phone i could have several responses and i do think one of them would be to use my mouth to quickly get rid of the coffee….oh and ditto on the candle wax as well as all the things we did with all different kinds of glue ..
Comment from Vikki
Time November 13, 2009 at 7:59 pm
For the record, I don’t lick batteries now. Apparently, I do lick other things however.
Comment from KarenH
Time November 13, 2009 at 8:56 pm
terrified & unadventurous when it comes to licking batteries. But I do slurp spilled coffee…
I woulda wiped said iTrip on my sleeve, pant leg, car seat. electronic gadgets surpass the cost of any clothing I would buy. Every day is casual Friday!
Comment from kirsten
Time November 12, 2009 at 9:32 pm
1) nope, not a licker.
2) If it was good coffee, I would have. But, I would like to think that I would have unplugged it from the car before putting it in my mouth…