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From: okunewck@gondor.UUCP (Philip E. OKunewick)
Newsgroups: net.rumor
Subject: Catastrophic failures
Message-ID: <2019@gondor.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 21:58:43 EST
Article-I.D.: gondor.2019
Posted: Fri Mar  7 21:58:43 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Mar-86 00:43:11 EST
Reply-To: okunewck@gondor.UUCP (Philip E. OKunewick)
Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ.
Lines: 17

When I was servicing computers, we had a running joke about the
120 volt test.  The testing procedure was to apply 120 volts to
a questionable component, and if it snapped crackled and popped,
it WAS good.

Now, after spending many hours trying to pin down an intermittent
bug, one is very tempted to do severe bodily harm to the defective
component.

I actually tried this one day.  I took a defective memory chip and
soldered the bare ends of a power cord each along row of pins.  I
then set the assembly on the floor, plugged it into the test bench,
and turned on the power.  It snapped, it crackled, it popped, it hopped
around, the lights flickered, I heard "What th' heck?!?!" from my
boss's office, and we all had a wonderful time.

						---Duck