So here’s what I need to know. Let’s say that you just came in from outside and took off your coat, which is always full of static electricity. Even though you have parted ways with the coat, you are apparently highly conductive. You touch random metal and are shocked. You walk probably 10 or 12 feet from point of combustion and touch the on button on the fan. You get another shock. The fan doesn’t turn on. In fact, hours later, plugged into a different socket, it still won’t turn on.

So, is this just an odd coincidence or could I actually have shorted out a fan with my static electricity? If it’s static, it seems extremely bizarre as I had already touched one piece of metal and the fan is mostly plastic. If it’s that the fan shorted out, it was totally out of the blue and is completely bizarre. The fan isn’t even a year old. Either way, it’s very strange.