This is a true story. One night, I went down into my basement and heard a snapping sound, and looked to see sparking between a 12-14G copper ground wire (from

This is a true story. One night, I went down into my basement and heard a snapping sound, and looked to see sparking between a 12-14G copper ground wire (from somewhere) and my water supply pipe. It turns out that my 1952-build house did NOT have a ground/earth for the panel, and a squirrel had chewed all but the last few strands of the neutral coming from the power pole. Most of the return from the house was going through this piddly ground strap, and it was not happy. I called the power company, and they were kind enough to install an new neutral almost immediately (perhaps at night). I then called an electrician, who grounded my panel. I am still amazed that my refrigerators and ovens worked, and wonder what would have happened if I had not heard the snapping sound.