I worked the lowest paying job in a ski lodge one winter. One day while waiting in the cafeteria line, one hand on the stainless steel counter, I noticed that I

I worked the lowest paying job in a ski lodge one winter. One day while waiting in the cafeteria line, one hand on the stainless steel counter, I noticed that I got a bit of a shock from the steel railing on the other side. There was also a stainless fryer on the counter, but insulated with plastic legs, so I did some experimenting by completing the circuit a few ways: - Counter to rail: weak shock - Counter to fryer: stronger shock - Fryer to rail: nothing I reasoned that the rail and fryer were both grounded, the fryer more so because the metal exterior was wired directly to the ground pin in a 3-prong electrical plug. The problem was the counter. I was pretty stoked: as a lowly ski lodge porter / custodian I'd diagnosed an electrical fault in the cafeteria! Everyone working there was way above my pay grade, but I got the manager's attention and excitedly explained my three experiments. The manager looked annoyed, confirmed that touching the counter and fryer gave a shock, and then unplugged the fryer (thus removing the ground) and went on with the day. As far as I know the counter remained electrified for the rest of the season, or longer. I'm amazed more people don't get electrocuted.