# Bonehead Flashlight Stories



## uh1c (Sep 20, 2007)

Last night I realized I had not seen my 6P for a while and decided to check my car. I grabbed my new Gree and went to search. Battery died in less than 1 minute. WTF? Oh duh! I had been doing runtime tests on RCR123s....:thinking:

I thought back to other bonehead stunts I had pulled with flashlights over the years and thought I'd share my "conspicuous stupidity in a public place" stunts.

Like the time I was speaking to a cute young lady and had my hand resting on my duty belt. I did not notice I had activated the tailcap switch and subsequently melted the cheap nylon holster it was in.  "Do you smell something burning?" Duh, yeah...
[BTW, I once did the same with a pepper spray canister, real smart!, not]

The time I got out of the vehicle and had my Bianchi B-lite slide out of its belt ring and onto my foot in front of a crowd of 50. I suavely just picked it up; like I do this all the time.  (Only a slight limp could be detected...)

All the times I checked my lights by looking into the lens and turning it on. Duh! "Guess its working, can someone point me toward the exit?"

The time I gently laid my Maglight on the roof of someone's car and forgot it was there...they drove off and it bounced off their trunk..."No Ma'am, I think you ran over a rock, Have a nice day!":shakehead

Looking down a 200 ft. cave pit and watching a flashlight spin down the drop. Laughing at the carelessness of a fellow caver and then realizing I was the flashlight's owner. Duh!

Won't count all the times I forgot to bring extra batteries. "Ah, sir, your flashlight is not working" "Oh, thanks!" Duh!

Still looking for that 6P, gotta be around here somewhere...

Anyone else willing to risk public ridicule stories here? 

UH1C


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## MarNav1 (Sep 20, 2007)

Too many to list!


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## DonShock (Sep 20, 2007)

I rigged up a cheap plastic gun case with some foam to hold some of my modified Mags. After cutting the foam and putting everything in the case for the first time, I left it sitting on the porch because I had glued a couple pieces of foam together with some rather odorous glue. A short while later, I noticed a bright glow on the porch. I found that one of the raised sections on the eggcrate foam was punching down on the button of my Mag2D ROP and it had melted a hole in the side of the case. Now I make sure to turn the buttons to the side, and loosen the tailcaps to prevent accidental activation for long term storage or transport.


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## herbicide (Sep 20, 2007)

Mine's here.


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## kelmo (Sep 20, 2007)

I was driving in the Lake Tahoe wilderness looking for the cabin my wife and inlaws were staying at. It was dark and I could not read the directions. So what does this genius do while driving I might add?! I use my 6P with BOG Cree premium drop in to illuminate the directions. I blinded myself and I was extremely fortunate not to kill someone or drive myself into the Truckee River. 

Duh...

BTW uh1c, do you work for the Reno Sheriff's department? Just kidding!!! Welcome to CPF


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## uh1c (Sep 20, 2007)

Thanks for the welcome kelmo! Not Reno 911.:tinfoil:
[Food or flashlight? well, if I have burger king for the next month can I get that Tiablo A9?]
UH1C


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## greenLED (Sep 20, 2007)

:welcome: uh1c



uh1c said:


> Anyone else willing to risk public ridicule stories here?



The very first time I got my hands on a Pila GL3, and couldn't figure out how to turn the LED tailcap on. My grade-school son had to show me how ("turn the batteries around, dad").


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## luminata (Sep 21, 2007)

a cpl years ago I knocked a favorite light off the batthroom sink ledge into the "just Used" and not flushed yet toilet. (yes it was #2).:sick2: I never felt the same about that light again.:shakehead and I dont take lights into the bathroom anymore


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## Brozneo (Sep 21, 2007)

LOL I've had a few close calls in that regard!!!!


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## woodrow (Sep 21, 2007)

When I was in college, I had bought one of those latex banded waterbaloon launchers. The ones that take three people to use. One night we wanted to see how high we could lauch a small but heavy flashlight. I got on the ground to pull back the cargo pouch and 2 of my buddies (about 10 of us present) went to the landing above to hold the handles. 

The light shot easily 250' into the air before we lost it. We all stood around in a group just looking up and trying to find it...we knew it had to be right over head. All of a sudden, one of us mentioned that inerta might have shut it off and it might be coming down pretty fast. We all ran off in 10 different directions and it just missed my buddy as it hit the ground with considerable force. 

Oh well, thats why college is considered a learning experience.


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## Burgess (Sep 21, 2007)

to Woodrow --




_


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## Northern Lights (Sep 21, 2007)

I carry two 5761 hot wires to work. One a MagCharger powered on 5400 mAh of NiMh the other a 2c-cell powered by AW Lithium Cs. Needless to say either in my duty belt is a lumbar crusher so I dump them into my go-bag and head of to work. 
Not once but *twice* two weeks ago I set the go-bag on fire while on my way to work by accidently bumping the MagCharger to ON. The smell of smoke was the first sign of stupidity. It also cracked the sodalime window of the light, luckily they are sold in pairs.


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## MarNav1 (Sep 22, 2007)

Was going to sell a light. Put the cells in backwards and burnt out the light. No longer for sale, duh!


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## Monocrom (Sep 22, 2007)

uh1c said:


> All the times I checked my lights by looking into the lens and turning it on. Duh! "Guess its working, can someone point me toward the exit?"
> 
> 
> Won't count all the times I forgot to bring extra batteries. "Ah, sir, your flashlight is not working" "Oh, thanks!" Duh!
> ...


 
I stopped checking my lights that way soon after getting my Surefire L4. 

Who needs extra batteries, when you have extra lights on you. 

My story isn't exactly public ridicule. (No one noticed me, looking like an idiot). A few weeks ago, I was putting together a list of B&M stores in NYC that sell flashlights, for CPF. I had just finished visiting the last store in Woodside, and decided to get some food at a nearby Pizza place. I had been there only once before, a few months ago. And I forgot where the light-switch for their restroom is located. So I'm standing in this tiny bathroom, as the door closes shut behind me, in total darkness, feeling around for the light-switch on the walls, and can't find it. 

I prop open the door to let in a bit of light, and I'm looking around the walls for the switch.... there isn't one! :thinking:

So I use my foot to keep the door open a bit, so that I can see and aim at the toilet while I take a pee. Now I'm just hoping no one walks by the door or has to use the restroom. 

At this point you're probably wondering why I didn't close the door, and just use my EDC light. Well, for the first time since becoming addicted to lights, I left all 3 of the lights I usually carry, at home. Can't recall why I removed the Photon II and Inova Microlight that I usually carry on my house keys. My larger, usually 2 cell 123A light was left at home in anticipation of buying a new light that morning. But by that afternoon, it became clear that nothing struck my fancy. So I was without even a key-chain light.

When I was done using the bathroom, I found the switch.... on a wall _outside_ of the bathroom door. 

BTW, carrot would love this thread.


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## kelmo (Sep 23, 2007)

woodrow said:


> When I was in college, I had bought one of those latex banded waterbaloon launchers. The ones that take three people to use. One night we wanted to see how high we could lauch a small but heavy flashlight...The light shot easily 250' into the air before we lost it...



Talk about good throw!!! LOL


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## Katdaddy (Sep 24, 2007)

woodrow said:


> When I was in college, I had bought one of those latex banded waterbaloon launchers. The ones that take three people to use. One night we wanted to see how high we could lauch a small but heavy flashlight. I got on the ground to pull back the cargo pouch and 2 of my buddies (about 10 of us present) went to the landing above to hold the handles.
> 
> The light shot easily 250' into the air before we lost it. We all stood around in a group just looking up and trying to find it...we knew it had to be right over head. All of a sudden, one of us mentioned that inerta might have shut it off and it might be coming down pretty fast. We all ran off in 10 different directions and it just missed my buddy as it hit the ground with considerable force.
> 
> Oh well, thats why college is considered a learning experience.


 

Ahhhh.......Alcohol and youth!!! I remember it well.:twothumbs


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## DonShock (Sep 24, 2007)

woodrow said:


> When I was in college, I had bought one of those latex banded waterbaloon launchers. The ones that take three people to use.........


I remember using one of those to shoot from the dorms, over the pool, and pegging people coming out of the student center. Due to the hang time, we could fire, shut the dorm room door, and watch the impact through the window without anybody seeing us. That saved our butts. Unfortunately during one shot around the corner comes one of the campus cops who prompltly gets a direct hit on his squad car. Obviously, that was the end of our fun for the day. Thankfully, nobody spotted which door the shots were coming from.


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## greenLED (Sep 24, 2007)

Katdaddy said:


> Ahhhh.......Alcohol and youth!!! I remember it well.:twothumbs


...which prolly means you didn't have enough of something.


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## raythompson (Sep 24, 2007)

While not a flashlight story it does have to do with lights, lots of them.

I had acquired 12 M5 flashbulbs. These are big, powerful, and bright. I was living in a dormitory on Langley AFB at the time. So what do we do with the bulbs as we cannot use them. The answer was seemingly simple. We wire all the bulbs together (parallel) so they can all be triggered at the same time. Then get a car battery to fire the lights, voltage about right, current certainly good enough.

We wait until dark, real dark. We then hang the lights out the window, wait for a couple of unsuspecting people. We then trigger the bulbs. Did I mention the bubs were bright. The flash was enourmous, huge, blindingly so. It attracted the attention of the base security police and for the next hour there were half a dozen emergency vehicles looking for the source of the bright light.

We kept a low profile, stayed in our room, kept the lights off on that stunt.


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## Bushman5 (Sep 24, 2007)

^ :twothumbs


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## LEDcandle (Sep 24, 2007)

luminata said:


> a cpl years ago I knocked a favorite light off the batthroom sink ledge into the "just Used" and not flushed yet toilet. (yes it was #2).:sick2: I never felt the same about that light again.:shakehead and I dont take lights into the bathroom anymore



Please don't put that light on the B/S/T...


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## Monocrom (Sep 25, 2007)

LEDcandle said:


> Please don't put that light on the B/S/T...



Way to give him the idea!


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## GregWormald (Sep 25, 2007)

Tonight. There are two of us running a late session in the office, and as we leave it is dark. We turn off the lights and can't see to make the exit through the maze of desks and chairs.
So I say "hang on a moment" and rummage for a minute or so through my bag for my Arc AAA with luxeon---totally forgetting that I had a Fenix on a lanyard and resting in my shirt pocket!
Greg


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## FlashSpyJ (Sep 25, 2007)

great storys guys!

I dont really have a good story to tell, but I´ll tell it anyway.. 

It was in highschool? ( I was 15-16 years old) My MagLite D4 was rather new to me, and the class was on a camping trip. Late in the evening or perhaps it was in the middle of the nigh... anyway.. Some of the girls was about to take a skinny dip (swim nude) with some boys they allowed to join them. I was excluded from the choosen ones...  so instead of letting the lucky ones go have their fun, I decided to take my extremely bright  maglite and shine on them, just to disturb them. The ladies got VERY aggrevated at me and scream alot telling me to take a hike... 

I did and after that I wasnt the most popular guy in the class...One of the lucky dudes was one of my best friends, even he was very upset with me...

Moral of my story... use your light wisely!


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## Monocrom (Sep 25, 2007)

FlashSpyJ said:


> Moral of my story... use your light wisely!


 
Or at least hide behind a tree before turning your light on.


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## Burgess (Sep 26, 2007)

Moral of the story... 


-- Carry a camera with telephoto lens and powerful FLASH,

rather than that rather-useless Mag-Lite. :naughty:


At least you woulda' been really popular with *some* of the students !


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## Patriot (Sep 26, 2007)

I had been running one of my Costco HIDs for a while and noticed that the inside of the glass window was fogged. I disassembled it for cleaning and also noticed dust on the reflector. I blew it off with canned air and lightly wiped it with a micro-fiber cloth. Turns out the bulb was still very hot and cooked the cloth onto the bulb and coated one side of it black...sigh. I had to remove the bulb and scrape the black off with a razor blade. I didn't feel very smart.


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## Pax et Lux (Sep 26, 2007)

I tend to do something stupid when I'm opening a new light for the first time.

Sometime back I got a Gerber IU. Slitting open the clamshell packing I took a hefty nick out of the lousy type II anodize in a rather obvious place (in fairness, the light is so worn now you cannot see this any more).

Putting the batteries in my brand new SL Propolly 4AA, sitting on the kitchen floor. . . put the batteries in, put the LED inside the head, screw it down, holding the light vertical. I hadn't thought that the switch could be in the 'on' position, and got a blast of light in the eyes when the head was screwed down enough to make contact.

Then only a month or so ago, when opening my new SF E2L from the clamshell package. Being aware of the Gerber IU damage, I sliced around the edge of the casing, expecting it would fall open. It didn't. I gave it a good pull and it came apart with a loud bang, sending the light flying through the air and landing heavily on the kitchen floor. Luckily, not a scratch. Ah, that's why you get quality lights!

Not exactly public humiliation, but I'm always entertained by my own stupidity anyway.


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## Dr.K (Sep 26, 2007)

Yea, I got a fresh one. Gave my 5yo a G2L to play with at the camp site. The next morning, Poof. gone.


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## SilverFox (Sep 26, 2007)

Hello Kyle,

Were you ever able to find your 5 year old?  

Tom


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## Walt175 (Sep 26, 2007)

SilverFox said:


> Hello Kyle,
> 
> Were you ever able to find your 5 year old?
> 
> Tom


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## Burgess (Sep 28, 2007)

to SilverFox --


I actually laughed OUT LOUD when i read that !


 ___ :lolsign:


_


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## GarageBoy (Sep 30, 2007)

Me and carrot at a cigar shop. He's showing off his Mc Lux III PD. They were like, wow..$300 flashlight..

right after he mentions how tough it is, he promptly drops it down a flight of metal stairs onto the brick floor below..


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## Monocrom (Sep 30, 2007)

GarageBoy said:


> Me and carrot at a cigar shop. He's showing off his Mc Lux III PD. They were like, wow..$300 flashlight..
> 
> right after he mentions how tough it is, he promptly drops it down a flight of metal stairs onto the brick floor below..


 
Ah! But did it keep working?

Also, which cigar shop? I know of two that are near Wall street.


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## Illum (Sep 30, 2007)

GarageBoy said:


> Me and carrot at a cigar shop. He's showing off his Mc Lux III PD. They were like, wow..$300 flashlight..
> 
> right after he mentions how tough it is, he promptly drops it down a flight of metal stairs onto the brick floor below..



you met carrot? 


not educating friends about the power of flashlights..
I was visiting a friend and mistakenly left my auroralite minimag on the table along with my Surefire A2....

Apparently his little brother had something in his eye so he "borrowed" my minimag cause he thought the "surefire" was too bright. [and yes, he has my G2 to play with so theres no doubt he knows how bright it is:twothumbs] Before I can warn him his brothers partially blind and walked around dazed for awhile, the only thing I can think of that might have saved his vision was the fact that minimags focus from flood to spot, not the other way aroundoo:

yeah...flahaholics, keep your powerful ones close to you, as for sleeper lights...wear a tag on them if you have nonflashaholics around


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## Burgess (Sep 30, 2007)

Warning:

Do not look into beam with remaining eye !




_


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## Dr.K (Oct 1, 2007)

Yeah, my son finally "reappeared", but without the G2L:thumbsdow


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## carrot (Oct 1, 2007)

Monocrom said:


> Ah! But did it keep working?
> 
> Also, which cigar shop? I know of two that are near Wall street.


OK Cigars in SoHo. And the PD-S worked fine afterwards, only a new dent in the barrel and a few nicks on the tail.


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## Monocrom (Oct 1, 2007)

carrot said:


> OK Cigars in SoHo. And the PD-S worked fine afterwards, only a new dent in the barrel and a few nicks on the tail.



Well, the dent and nicks just make the light more your own. No one will ever accuse you of keeping it as a Shelf Queen.

I used to work the night shift almost 3 years ago at a residential building in Soho. I used to get out at the West 4th St. station and walk a few blocks to work..... All I'll say is, it was never a boring stroll.

LOL.


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## Calamityville_Horror (Oct 1, 2007)

In high school, I worked for a hot tar roofing company one summer. As the young guy getting paid under the table, I was low on the labor totem pole and most of my time was spent carrying bags of gravel and buckets of hot tar up ladders.

Sometimes the jobs would stretch into the evening so I though I would be smart and carry my Minimag with me for cleaning up after dusk. Well, one day climbing up the ladder the light fell out of my pocket and somehow ricocheted off a rung below me to fly 25 ft sideways and  straight into the tar kettle. (Big tub where they melt the tar)

Goodbye Minimag. If it happened today with a $300 Surefire and not a Minimag, hell, I might have dove off the ladder in after it.


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## Monocrom (Oct 1, 2007)

Calamityville_Horror said:


> Goodbye Minimag. If it happened today with a $300 Surefire and not a Minimag, hell, I might have dove off the ladder in after it.


Good thing most Surefires come with pocket-carry clips.


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## MikeSalt (Oct 2, 2007)

I keep most of my flashlights on a shelf above the head of my bed. Many at time I have reached to get one, and ended up having my entire collection land on my face. I now put all the flashlights at the far end of the shelf and have only my favourite 'go-to while in bed' flashlight within reach.

Curiously, despite an ever-growing collection, my favorite bedroom flashlight is a 50 pence ($1) cheap 5mm LED 3xAAA light. It has aluminium construction, which is nicely knurled and shaped, and a rear-mounted clickie. If Poundland sell them again, I am going to pick up 10 to use a hand-out flashlights.


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## Illum (Oct 2, 2007)

Monocrom said:


> Good thing most Surefires come with pocket-carry clips.



if you don't want to lose it, lanyard it:nana:



MikeSalt said:


> I keep most of my flashlights on a shelf above the head of my bed. Many at time I have reached to get one, and ended up having my entire collection land on my face.



been there...theres a reason why my mag6D is under the pillow and _NOT _above the bed....


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## Monocrom (Oct 3, 2007)

Illum_the_nation said:


> ...theres a reason why my mag6D is under the pillow and _NOT _above the bed....


 
LOL !

Now that's what you call a _Bump_ in the night.


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## lctorana (Oct 3, 2007)

Illum_the_nation said:


> ...my mag6D is under the pillow...


 
That's what flashoholic dreams are made of.

Dream about torches.


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## Illum (Oct 5, 2007)

well no....I dream big, big enough to call segments "chapters" usually LED based and surefire oriented....with fantasy dreams of having a gf in the last of chapters

the 6Ds there because i found it to be an annoyance on the floor [laminex wood flooring, when I kick it over its no  but a very loud "CRASH" followd by a long rolling sound [floors uneven] and THUD when it hits a couple cardboard boxes full of glass wine cups and china [its was a good deal on that garage sell...just I never broke my existing china to use it].

since for those really really suspicious bump in the nights, aside from tagging along a surefire a 6D with xenon and a MOP reflector not only serve as support illumination but a weapon too

my options on storage: 
on top of bed, I would have to remind myself to put a light near my bed and not reach up and search for one when I need it
under the pillow, not exactly comfortable unless the pillows firm enough, risk battery acid [if leaking] destroying the sheets and the mattress [both heirlooms from the previous generation]
beside the bed reachable by hand, I could easily kick it over [high center of gravity plus an uneven floor] and would sound like CRASH, roll roll roll roll, THUD, roll roll roll until it eventually finds an even ground and stop the pendulum swing


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## uh1c (Oct 10, 2007)

I was examining my old Bianchi B-Lite, maybe an upgrade to some sort of drop-in, if any such exists that will fit ...

Looking at it, I remembered another lesson in improvised tools.

A flashlight does not a good hammer make!

Dents broken bulbs, flattened battery terminals...oh to be young and dumb. [Hmm, I can "drift" this thing into place with my 1911A1 (probably not a good idea) or I know!, I'll use my flashlight!]


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## DanielG (Oct 11, 2007)

I've had more than one fall out of the aircraft when someone didn't zip his leg pocket and we were flying doors off. Trying to get whatever it was out and *floop* there goes the flashlight.

That's why we carried the $5 drug store mini-mag knockoffs :thumbsup:


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## Illum (Oct 11, 2007)

DanielG said:


> I've had more than one fall out of the aircraft when someone didn't zip his leg pocket and we were flying doors off. Trying to get whatever it was out and *floop* there goes the flashlight.
> 
> That's why we carried the $5 drug store mini-mag knockoffs :thumbsup:



hopefully someone didn't get hurt when one of your flashlights descended upon solid ground without the aid of a parachute....although an accidental convert after being knocked silly isn't impossible 
_
buy a metal flashlight next time, let it sit in an autoclave or take a gas welder and put burn marks all over it, then drop it off from the aircraft and see if someone claim on national TV that someone in space lost their flashlight :hahaha: 
_


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## DanielG (Oct 11, 2007)

Illum_the_nation said:


> hopefully someone didn't get hurt when one of your flashlights descended upon solid ground without the aid of a parachute....although an accidental convert after being knocked silly isn't impossible
> _
> buy a metal flashlight next time, let it sit in an autoclave or take a gas welder and put burn marks all over it, then drop it off from the aircraft and see if someone claim on national TV that someone in space lost their flashlight :hahaha:
> _




We're so low to the ground that we would literally see anyone that could get hit. This is all at 100' and lower. Higher up you generally have the time to take the time to make sure other junk isn't falling


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## uh1c (Oct 11, 2007)

I lost many many packs of smokes and zippos from my chest plate pocket when looking out and down....but only when I wasn't carrying anymore packs of cigarettes or C-rats. Murphy's Law. 
(C-rats had matches and Pall Malls and too often.... wait for it...Ham and Lima Beans! yummmmm)


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## DanielG (Oct 11, 2007)

uh1c said:


> I lost many many packs of smokes and zippos from my chest plate pocket when looking out and down....but only when I wasn't carrying anymore packs of cigarettes or C-rats. Murphy's Law.
> (C-rats had matches and Pall Malls and too often.... wait for it...Ham and Lima Beans! yummmmm)




I wonder what gave me the idea you were an old gun bunny... 

OH-58 A/C and D here


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## uh1c (Oct 11, 2007)

Old is right! 
191AHC: Dong Tam, Can To
Nice to met ya!


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## DanielG (Oct 11, 2007)

uh1c said:


> Old is right!
> 191AHC: Dong Tam, Can To
> Nice to met ya!



It's a pleasure! 
1/82d ATK Desert Storm
4/2 ACR Bosnia
http://www.cavalrypilot.com/


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## Burgess (Oct 11, 2007)

At work, many years ago . . . .


Somebody, high above me, dropped their 2-D cell plastic industrial flashlight. 


Landed *directly on top* of my safety hard-hat. 


I was *quite stunned*. Didn't realize *just what had happened*, until a fellow worker told me.


One minute later, a call came thru on the intercom:


"Hey, did you guys find the flashlight i dropped ?"


Our foreman replied:


"Yep, it's down here !"


Flashlight dropper sez:


"Well, send it back UP !" (in the material elevator/lift)


And our foreman answered:


"Come *down here* and *GET* it !"




And, for some reason, nobody EVER came down to *retrieve* it. 




I realize that it was an accident, but it sure hurt like hell !

:shakehead

_


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## Illum (Oct 11, 2007)

Burgess, if that was something metal it could've gone through your hard hat

sometimes I think its best for industrial grade lights to be plastic...lightweight, nonconductive, will hurt but wont be lethal.

good to hear your okay


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## Avatar28 (Oct 12, 2007)

uh1c said:


> All the times I checked my lights by looking into the lens and turning it on. Duh! "Guess its working, can someone point me toward the exit?"



While I've done that several times in the past, I've finally learned not to look DIRECTLY into it but to aim it away from my face somewhat. However I had to go through a security checkpoint to go pay a traffic citation. Like so many others these days, you have to empty your pockets, send backs through an xray scanner, etc while you go through a metal detector. Anyways, I passed my light through in the basket. The young lady security guard picked up my Dorcy Super 1 Watt and asked what it was, was it a flashlight. I confirmed for it it was. She then looked directly into the middle of the reflector and before I could stop her hit the power button. She quickly recoiled back and handed me the light back, seeming a bit dazed and expressed amazement at how bright it was. 

I now carry a P3D Rb100. I hope I don't have a security guard repeat said test with it set to turbo mode now. Then again, it would probably serve them right.


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## GregWormald (Oct 12, 2007)

You know, if I could guarantee that someone would be stupid enough to look in the lens and then light up, I'd carry a 5 pound hot-wire! Unfortunately I've never had it happen. :-(
Greg


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## DanielG (Oct 12, 2007)

A long while ago I got in the habit of pointing a flashlight at my hand and turning it on to see if it worked from the light hitting my hand. Now that I see what some of these thing can do, I'm really glad I've already gotten in that habit :duh2:


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## Monocrom (Oct 12, 2007)

DanielG said:


> A long while ago I got in the habit of pointing a flashlight at my hand and turning it on to see if it worked from the light hitting my hand. Now that I see what some of these thing can do, I'm really glad I've already gotten in that habit :duh2:


 
LOL .... I do the same, exact thing! :twothumbs


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## Avatar28 (Oct 12, 2007)

GregWormald said:


> You know, if I could guarantee that someone would be stupid enough to look in the lens and then light up, I'd carry a 5 pound hot-wire! Unfortunately I've never had it happen. :-(
> Greg



Well tell you what. Next time I go I'll make sure I have my P3D set to turbo mode for you in case they do that.


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## GregWormald (Oct 13, 2007)

Thanks, mate, I'd appreciate it. :thumbsup:
Every time someone looks at one of my lights they shine it at something to see if it works. They're no fun at all. 
Greg


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## The Porcupine (Oct 16, 2007)

Amazingly, this happened to a buddy and not to me! My buddy was visiting and just had to check out my SF M3. I made sure to tell him NOT to look into the thing and turn it on - which he didn't! Enter his wife.....! She picks it up, points it at him and before he or I could do anything, she blasts him in the face from tree feet away! On fresh batteries, obviously!
He called me a couple of days later and told me he was seeing spots all next day and wifey had to drive the car home!


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## Phaetos (Oct 16, 2007)

The Porcupine said:


> from tree feet away!



How far is that?


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## Illum (Oct 16, 2007)

Phaetos said:


> How far is that?



"tree feet away" is right on par with the "bonehead" part of the thread title 

I'm pretty sure he meant three


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## KingGlamis (Oct 17, 2007)

When we go camping I always use one of my DeWalt 18V work lights for the camp set-up light (for putting up the tent, etc.). This one trip I set the light on the ground and walked back to the truck. Came back a few minutes later and my light was off. I asked my buddy, "Did you turn that off?" He says no, it just died. OOPS, forgot to charge that one I guess (only time that has ever happend). Luckily I have two other DeWalts plus a spare battery, so we were OK.

One time I put four fresh RCR123As in a light and turned it on and it was VERY dim. Ut oh... Took the batteries out and ONE was in backwards. I was amazed it even lit up at all.


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## YAK-28 (Jul 10, 2020)

would leaving old alkaline batteries in your lights qualify for this thread?


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## Monocrom (Jul 11, 2020)

YAK-28 said:


> would leaving old alkaline batteries in your lights qualify for this thread?




If you left them in there for years, forgot about them, and returned to a crust-covered mess on the inside; then yes. Bonus points if it was an expensive or rare light, and you couldn't salvage it.


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## thermal guy (Jul 11, 2020)

I spent well over an hour in chest deep water looking for my HDS twisty 😂😂. We were on vacation and playing on the beach with my kids. I was tossing it in the water and they were bringing it back. Tossed it a little to far and didn’t see where it went. I wasn’t leaving without it!


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## Monocrom (Jul 12, 2020)

Sooooo.... Did you find it, or gave up the search?


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## thermal guy (Jul 12, 2020)

Oh I found it! It was getting dark and thank god she was still on could just make it out on the bottom. If she had run out of juice I’m thinking that would of been that.


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## Monocrom (Jul 13, 2020)

Always good to hear a story with a happy ending. :thumbsup:


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## Msf (Jul 13, 2020)

Wanted to verify my light could take two 18350’s so looked up the wrong light, verified it could use two 18350’s, put two 18350’s in my light and promptly fried the driver.


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## Kitchen Panda (Jul 19, 2020)

A couple of years ago, spent the night with the in-laws in their camper trailer. In the morning, while we were packing up to go, brother-in-law can't find his Quark 2AA. We literally turned everything in the place upside down looking for it ...lots of places can hide a flashlight in a camper. I finally reached into my pocket and discovered that I had *two* Quark 2AAs in it. I must have absent mindedly picked up his , thinking it was mine. It only took us 20 minute or so to put all the camper back together again.


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## troutpool (Jul 20, 2020)

Bad day yesterday. One light slipped out of my shirt pocket and fell on the tile floor when I bent over to pick something up. Later, I knocked a light off the nightstand onto the floor when I tried to grab the light standing next to it. Years ago, I actually vacuumed a light into my Electrolux. Fortunately, it was an HDS and it came out laughing.


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## Mick23 (Jul 20, 2020)

So I was showing a co-worker my glow gasket in the middle of the day. I thought it to be a great idea to turn it on and set it facedown on the dash of his company truck. Hahaha. I knew better too. Needless to say he now has a melted dash with my thumb print in it.


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## LeanBurn (Jul 21, 2020)

I almost lost my 2D maglite to forgotten d cells
..but I managed to pry them out clean it up and get it working and even upgraded into a glass lens.

It now sits on a shelf, batteries out until I use it on St. Incans Day.


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