Pissin' & moanin'

Charger_Fan · October 05, 2005, 11:06:42 AM

An old lady phoned her telephone company to report that her telephone sometimes did not ring when her friends called. She also reported that when it did ring, her pet dog always moaned right before the phone rang.

The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, expecting to find either a psychic dog or a senile old lady. He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked up his test set, and dialed the subscriber's number.

The phone did not ring right away as the lady had reported. But then the dog started to moan loudly and the phone began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the repairman found:

1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire via a steel chain and collar.
2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.
3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the phone number was called.
4. After a couple of such jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate on himself and the ground.
5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring.

This demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.