The static fears came from the early unbuffered CMOS chips, which were insanely sensitive to it. Yes, in theory you can still wreck a chip that way, but for th

The static fears came from the early unbuffered CMOS chips, which were insanely sensitive to it. Yes, in theory you can still wreck a chip that way, but for the most part it isn't going to happen unless you're in an environment that's unusually prone to static buildup.