Low humidity footwear

[mtbc]

I work in the Life Sciences Research Complex; as one makes one's way around the buildings along corridors and through fire doors one may be struck by temperature differences along one's journey, sometimes as if on a tour of cryptoclimates. I now work in the newest building of the complex in one of the colder spaces on our floor unlovingly christened the goldfish bowl. The building has aggressive HVAC with no humidification which can mean that the air gets dry indeed. We routinely keep an eye on how people operate the nearby door so as to touch it without electrostatic shock.

I had cunningly bought myself leather-soled shoes which were indeed a considerable improvement on the electrical front. However, since the warmer weather came I switched to sandals and my current ones are rubber-soled. I wonder if there is some waterproof conductive substance I could spray them with to try to make them rather less insulating.

Comments

[gerald_duck]

Handy tip 1: If you think you're going to get a static shock off something, touch it with the back of your hand instead of going for it with a finger. Result: same shock dispersed over a larger area so much less painful.

Handy tip 2: Hold a bunch of keys in your hand, with one key protruding. Even better.

Handy tip 3: If you're one of the geeks at school rather than one of the bullies who enjoy shuffling around on the nylon carpet then giving people shocks, tip 2 can be used to give someone a really painful shock that you barely feel yourself. Maybe physics lessons weren't so boring after all, eh?

Handy tip 4: You could spray your sandals with this stuff.

Handy tip 5: This is the proper solution. :-p

[mtbc]

Ha, thank you on a few counts! You've now reminded me of when I would get a shock when returning to the car in Arizona or Nevada or somesuch, I got into the habit of brushing the roof with the top of my forearm before going for the door, but maybe the key trick would have worked.