I grew up in the 80s in a Southern California suburb. All the neighborhood kids used the transformer box as a meeting place. My first kiss was absolutely at one that looked really similar to this. I havenât thought about Becky C. in decades.
Another transformer box story:
Before helicopter parenting was standard, folks used to let their kids wander around the neighborhood pretty much as soon as they could talk. All the kids watched each other. 12 year olds hanging out with 4 year olds. When I was part of the older kids group, we had convinced the younger kids (the ones that couldnât yet read) that the transformer box was actually a trap that housed an electrical monster, thanks to this sticker:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Ouch
Iâm pretty sure the recent release of Ghostbusters had influenced this story and the acceptance of it.
rumba@lemmy.zip â¨3⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
We used to bake mud pies on the transformer just like that in the summer heat at the apartments where I lived decades ago. We had no toys, so we were making due. Parents game out to yell at us to get away from it. But we never would stop. Eventually one of the fathers came out to make sure it was locked and safe and just let us carry on.
SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml â¨3⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Yep. The certified Dad solution
Glitterbomb@lemmy.world â¨3⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
The door locks, sure, and the entire thing is a good 200lbs+, but itâs often still just resting on top of the concrete pad. Kids probably canât push it but an adult can probably hip check it an inch at a time.
Maybe a rider lawnmower bumps it and moves it 3 inches and now thereâs a crevice between the concrete pad and the transformer that kids can reach into and grab high voltage power lines.
They ARE fairly safe, a lot of things have to go wrong, but bottom line itâs still something that will kill.
Iâve worked around them, and I never shooed or chastised any kids I saw playing on them. Iâd just do a quick inspection with them, point out that itâs not crooked or bent or anything so they know what to look out for. Iâd really prefer they didnât play on it, but I get it
Zwiebel@feddit.org â¨3⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Why tf arenât they bolted down?
Like this one a car crashed into 1000097930
marcos@lemmy.world â¨3⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Well. Are they grounded? Because they look like any loose wire or even induction could make the stuff on the photo lethal. Not something common, but pretty clearly one single point of failure.
If they are grounded, it would also not be viable for an adult to push it around.