Today, my telephone line was hit by lightning. I discovered that not only will lightning fry a router, it will also destroy any PCs connected to that router via network cables. I also discovered that a $10 phone line surge protector would have saved nearly $3,000 worth of PC equipment. FML
Collection
Wild Nights Out
Last call, bad decisions and 3 a.m. texts you'll regret until noon. Cheers.
Today, we spent an entire day without being able to do work because our internet connection was down. Turns out, only the router had crashed and nobody bothered to reset it "to avoid doing further damage". FML
Today, while working the dinner rush at my job, every single computer, credit card machine, and printer froze for an hour and a half. The reason behind this issue was a large wire ripped from the mainframe, the same wire I tripped over 20 seconds before while my boss watched. FML
Today, I spilled a glass of iced tea all over my desk. It trickled down the wall and fried an extension cord. FML
Today, my cat decided that the best place for her to pee was over the surge protector where my modem, router, and printer are plugged in. FML
Today, I tried to charge my phone at school by removing the socket for the fan. All the computers in the room turned off. I accidentally removed the power cables for the computers and got suspended. FML
Today, the ethernet cable that I'd waited so long for arrived. I have been gaming on the stupidly unstable wifi for months and finally I thought my life would be saved. Then it turns out that the ethernet port isn't working. FML
Today, during a storm-related power failure, I jerry-rigged an inverter from my car to supply the essentials. In doing so, I managed to blow up the fridge, smoke and all. The power came back on 5 minutes later. FML
Today, my cat knocked my phone into the bathtub. I grabbed it, dried it, and put it on the charger without thinking. Five minutes later, the bathroom lights went out and my landlord texted me asking why the fuses had tripped. FML
Today, in an effort to rearrange my bedroom, I planned to reroute my internet cables under my house. Then I found out about the black widow infestation. FML
Today, my house was broken into and my computer was stolen. Fortunately, I have cloud backups of all my work; unfortunately, hardware prices have gone through the roof and I won't be able to replace that computer soon. FML
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Top comments
stunty_fml 0
You lucky you. Surge protector worth 10 bucks would probably set your house on fire.
Fop 6
HAH. YDI for not getting one though. This one was actually good. Also, I like the OPs name.
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Comments (106)
bds0688 0
Eh, should have spent some more green OP. UPS with cable or ethernet jacks, and grounded outlets. Possibly a protector on the breaker box itself. And a PC enthusiast doesn't use wireless, since we'd prefer reliability and higher speeds.
Notastalker 0
noob.
EveryDayJackAss 0
this is WHY i unplug all my shit during a thunder storm, again it doesn't help if a bigass tree near you gets struck by lightning, then your house would be screwed AND on fire
kelpie_fml 0
luckily i discovered this 10 years ago with a dialup modem. sorry to hear you lost so much equipment.
3n1gma_fml_fml 0
Idiot! YDI. Always get a GOOD surge protector with a warranty. I usually spend about $50 on mine, and get the warranty that covers anything plugged in. I've never had to use it, but I'm not stupid enough not to be prepared, I'm a boy scout :D
Psychomaze 0
One word: "DUH!"
DaBean 0
Surge protectors are not lightning arresters. Lighting doesn't travel though cables, it travels over them, so a surge protector is going to be useless, and I doubt anyone would recommend installing lighting arresters in every home. Also, any computer enthusiast will be using cables, but if you're area is prone to lightning, it would be an idea to look into a wireless router, and always unplug during a storm. FYL for losing your stuff, FYL for not knowing how to prevent it in the future.
zoecakes 0
YDI for not having a mac! :)
bugmenotmofo 34
Macs don't have built in surge protectors.
CoolHipDude 0
Dumbass idiot for leaving your pcs plugged during a lightning storm!!!!!
bugmenotmofo 34
OP here. First thing first, the code that determines location by IP address is wrong, because I live in Cape Town, Western Province (where thunderstorms are rare) and not Gauteng (where thunderstorms are an almost-daily occurence). Secondly, I am on DSL not dialup. And no, we don't have anything faster than 4Mbps DSL here. Thirdly, many of the commenters fail at reading comprehension. I clearly stated that the lightning came through my *telephone* line (which was not protected) as opposed to the power lines, which all have surge suppression devices on them. As ndawgg noted, that was the one minor thing I neglected to protect... Bonus FML: the telephone pole that got struck is right outside my house. Most of my neighbours have also lost modems/routers/telephones, but no-one was unlucky as me. :/ @mephistopheles2u: a lot of people in SA use 3G/wireless Internet instead of DSL for the same reason that many use cellphones instead of landlines - wireless is much cheaper here. However, as a gamer I like a stable ping and minimal connection drops - something that wireless can't provide, hence I have DSL. And yes, I use Eskom power, even though the quality of their power sucks and they want to hike our electricity tariffs by 45% per year for the next 3 years.