Interesting Fact

So I had a thought a while back. Why don't birds get electrocuted when they sit on telephone wires? So I looked it up, and here's what the website said:

The reason birds don't get blackened to crisps has nothing to do with the fact that they're birds. It’s all about the connections they’re making—or, more importantly, not making.....The other thing electrons need in order to move is motivation - or, more specifically, a difference in what’s called electrical potential. “Imagine lugging a bunch of bowling balls up a mountain,” A scientist explains. “If you give them a path, the balls will naturally roll down the mountain to a lower position.” At the top of the mountain, the bowling balls (which represent the electric current) have a high potential, and they will travel down any path that becomes available. When a bird is perched on a single wire, its two feet are at the same electrical potential, so the electrons in the wires have no motivation to travel through the bird’s body. No moving electrons means no electric current. Our bird is safe, for the moment anyway… If that bird stretches out a wing or a leg and touches a second wire, especially one with a different electrical potential, it will open a path for the electrons—right through the bird’s body.   
There are other perils for our feathered friends, she points out. “The wood pole supporting the wires is buried deep in the ground,” she says, “so it would also be dangerous for a bird to sit on the pole and touch a wire.” This is the problem that people encounter if they touch live wires—since we are almost always in contact with the ground. Our bodies turn out to be excellent conductors of electricity, and the electrical current will happily use them to complete a closed path to flow from high potential (the wire) to low potential (the ground). ZAP!  So how do workers repair live electrical wires without getting hurt? They use insulating materials in their clothing, equipment, and bucket trucks. Insulating materials such as rubber are materials through which electricity has a hard time flowing. So instead of passing through the electrician, the electrons stay on the other side of his rubber gloves or rubber-handled tools. (Keep in mind: these aren’t everyday household gloves and tools—those are too thin to protect you from a shock and are often not made entirely of rubber) Another technique is to hang beneath a helicopter. Since neither the worker nor the helicopter is connected to the ground (like a bird), the worker just has to make sure he only touches one wire at a time. Despite continual safety improvements, being a power linesman is still one of the ten most dangerous jobs in America. So, it’s a good idea to stay away from electrical wires unless you’re a trained professional—or a bird. “Electrical current is the movement of electrons,”. The movement of electrons through a device like your TV is what gives it the energy to display images and produce sound. Scientists describes the long process these moving electrons take to get to your house. “The electrons are essentially being pulled from the ground by the power station,” one says. “They move through the power lines, through your TV, and eventually they make their way back into the ground from where they came.” This creates a closed loop, which is required for electricity to flow.   

Brynn's interesting fact of the day! Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know....