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TICKLEBOX: JOLT YOUR FRIENDS
Long before police were tasering belligerent drunks, prepubescent Midwestern boys were tearing apart broken camera flash units and making simple cattle prods to surprise and delight their friends: the Ticklebox—a sinister name for a sinister toy. This particular design, and its packaging, was the brainchild of a boyhood friend’s teenaged cousin. Jiggle the foil-covered box and enjoy a brisk, but safe, 100-volt jolt. You could make up a game using the box (LARP Operation™? Hungry-Hungry Don’t Tase Me Bro!?) but what’s the point? High-voltage, low-current self-administered electrocution is its own joy.
The heart of the Ticklebox is a step-up transformer, a device that cunningly uses electromagnetism to step up a ...
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