Was a young lad - probably about 12-13 yrs old. Didn't really have any tools or knowledge but working on the family lawnmower. Wanted it to cut deeper grass so took the carb off to clean it, etc, etc. You have to understand that nobody in my family had any mechanical aptitude but I was determined that I would be the first!
Well, it was one of those mowers that had the throttle control lever so you could adjust the engine speed. Did the cleaning, put it back together, and lo and behold, it started! Revved it up fast and, Gosh am I smart!! Gonna cut some serious grass now for sure!! Went to turn it off - which you did by moving the throttle lever until it somehow grounded the spark plug - and it wouldn't shut off! Now what? Well, the bare spark plug wire was attached to the plug and sticking out the back of the engine. So I figured I'm smart and can do this fast and just hit it with my hand to knock the wire off.
So I did that and the wire didn't come off so fast and the spark jumped from my leg (I had shorts on) to the metal mower handle. I'd never seen a spark before but I got to see one that day!! Felt like a swarm of hornets stung me all in one place at the same time!! Who said I couldn't jump...or scream? I may have set the high jump mark that day!! And I had a nice red welt/burn mark on the side of my leg for about 2 weeks after.
And you wonder why I'm leery to this day of being too near a coil wire on a running engine?
