Yup. Walmart carts. It was so bad today my right hand still hurts. Is it the shopping gods telling me not to shop at Wal-Mart?

@bohemian: You might want to smoke some weed or something to mellow out. You're pretty worked up over a bunch of strangers that really have no impact on your life. The "land manatees" and "soccer moms" can't really do much but not fit into a narrow stereotype you hold for what a woman should be. Control freak by chance?

The new carts at the Super Walmart in Raleigh, NC continuously shock me. I was shopping with my 1 year old son in the seat and I would occasionally shock him.

@courtarro: That's child's play compared to the REAL fun of... wait for it... EATING A CAR.
Too far?

@silver-bolt: You're exactly right. I do it every morning to whet my appetite before eating yesterday's newspaper.

@paulrules: Probably a HAARP like device in the store directing mega jules of energy in an attempt to stop thefts by discharing a huge electrical shock to would be theives. Or possibly the CIA fooling around.

I noticed this some years ago when a new Wal-Mart was built. The carts there would constantly shock you with little charges, and sometimes nip you with a pretty damn big one for good measure. Eventually they changed out the carts, but when I mentioned it to staff they acted like everyone had said the same thing.

Look for a lack of grounding chain or strap on the carts that shock you or maybe something is caught up in the chain/strap keeping those from touching the floor. As I mentioned in one response the local Costco has plastic molded carts and one of the fixed (non-turning)rear wheels has a ground chain attached to it. My 6 year old son was playing with it the last time I was loading my car up so I explained to him and his brother the reason...

More static electricy fun in daily life:

All of you toll road commuters should look at the grounding wire at the manned toll booth. (I know- most toll road commuter warriors use electronic RFID linked payment systems now- EZEPass, et al but humor me for this point.) This wire sticks out from the booth to lightly rub the vehicle so that the booth operator does not get shocked by the static electricity. I don't know if this is one of the many reasons for toll collector employees to wear rubber gloves now. I had read that people were sabotaging the paper money with all forms of nasty stuff too as people expressed their disdain for tolls- much as people stickered the coin throw funnels in the last 2 decades...

@The Reviewer: Look for the grounding chain on one of the rear wheels...

@shepd: Also with plastic molded carts- the ones at my local Costco have a short grounding chain on one of the wheel positions...

@PLATTWORX: i clicked on the post wondering (really), "i wonder how long 'til the anti-walmart fucktard comes out?" and look! there's a fucktard.

For the record, it was one of the carts that they've had in the store forever, nothing new or unique about it.

@bohemian: @bohemian: and what is wrong with immigrants? I'm glad they shop at my Wal~Mart since they spend money. Now, I know what is wrong with white trash but as long as they are spending money at my Wal~Mart then I can tend to overlook much of their white-trashy annoying behaviors. As for local grocery stores, there are several here, all on the same street within a 8 mile radius as my Wal~Mart, including 2 Ingles' grocery stores and a Bi-Lo, and they all do just fine regardless of Wal~Mart being there. In fact, having 2 Ingles' in that small amount of distance shows that competition thrives around Wal~Mart. As for Bi-Lo, they just plain suck, and I try to never go there. I can price match at Wal~Mart the very few good deals they have and I can actually save money without having to do their buy one get one free specials that force you to buy two of an item to get the discount. Wal~Mart will price match bogo by cutting the item price in half and not make you buy more than you want. My co-workers and I also think it's funny when Bi-Lo has bogo specials on something like Oreo cookies and the price of the cookies is like 4.00 a pack so you are actually paying 2.00 for each pack which is Wal~Mart's regular price on Oreo cookies. We all say Oreo's don't cost 4.00 a pack so what kind of deal is that to jack up the prices to give you one free. Anyways I'm glad to work and shop at Wal~Mart, the place is so much better than the other options such as Target and unemployment!

YES! but it was sams club! i got the sh*t shocked out of me! its a brand new sams club in our area and my husband kept laughing at me because the cart was shocking me, then i would touch something to dicharge it and get shocked again!

Doesn't Wal-Mart have the right to sell their property?

Do mom&pop shops pay more than a retail store? Benefits?

I think they should have done more 'real-world' tests with these new carts before ordering the umpteen million they probably just put into service.

i hate walmart. the end. blerg.

@Major-General: For clarification, exactly the same as Wal-Mart.

@PLATTWORX: You're right. Shop at Target, which treats it's employees exactly the same.

Shepd is in Canada. Walmart Canada is often ranked among various independent sources as one of the best employers in the country, particularly considering the industry it is in. I'm sure there are still many issues across the country with various Walmarts, but it's not as bad as American Wal-Marts are considered.

I was in Wally World a couple of months ago, just minding my own business, and some lady was killed by their 'falling prices'!

OK, I made that up, me bad. It was either read this site or cut the grass.

[targetfiling.blogspot.com]

The reason for the near continuous "mild shock" feeling is the whole surface of the floor can build up a mild charge and field.

-Matt

Slow news day?

@gauden44: It beats having to listen to the unruly childen of parents who care more about polking at the fish.

Whats the DVM? My nails? Pot, I'm kettle, its nice to meet you.

So basically, your negative experience translates to all the Walmarts? I've been to Walmarts in wealthy neighborhoods and poorer neighborhoods. Obviously, there is a difference between the two. But, the fact that their prices are amazing doesn't stop either from being popular.

Yes, there are shoddy items. I don't buy them.

I'm not sure what accusations I flung at you, other than saying that your stereotyping is pretty out of line. I'm not a redneck, i'm not very overweight, I'm single, no children, I make good enough money to live in a good neighborhood, and I like to save money by shopping at Walmart!

So basically, our experiences have differed. I'm not accusing you of being wrong for not liking your Walmart. No, I am accusing you of your accusations that people who shop are Walmart are lower class, that your experience mirrors ALL the experiences at ALL Walmarts, and that your ideas of how the world should be run needs to be pushed on others while our ideas are not to be heard. J'accuse, j'accuse, j'accuse.

Another curious thing I've noticed about Walmart carts: It is impossible to find a cart that is not broken. Every single one is missing either the plastic child seat, the belt, the plastic handle, or some combination of the three. Across the street, there is a Target that has been open twice as long, and I've found nary a busted cart there.

So, Walmart shopping carts = crap.

From what I am guessing is that it is all/mostly plastic, which builds up a lot potential static energy. A simple chain touching the ground will prevent all of this.

I also hate going to the DVM. It is a negative experience for slightly different reasons than Walmart. The DVM is boring, hot, tedious and generally unpleasant in every way. Walmart is noisy, over lit, carries quite a bit of sub standard merchandise. Our local ones are always filthy, not a bit dirty filthy but call the health department filthy. If I have an option of shopping somewhere that is fairly quiet, has far fewer people and is sans hoards of screaming kids and kids running the aisles with wheelies on guess what one I am going to pick? People tend to avoid negative experiences. Since Walmart has nothing that is enough of a reward to over ride the hell hole it is I don't shop there it is an over all negative experience. Why subject myself to that for zero reason? The facts that Walmart is crappy to both employees and vendors just adds to that, and they are. But yea, go ahead and fling some accusations at me if it makes you feel better about yourself.
BTW, I avoid the Target in downtown Mpls for the same reason, it is a crappy hell hole.

Funny thing: I know many peope who 'experimented' with drugs in college but no one who 'experimented' with homosexuality.

The floors can't be all that well insulated, or you wouldn't receive a shock from live AC... You'd just need a large enough grounding strap.

Although, as I've experienced, the carts with chains welded to them do pretty good.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but since the entire frame of the cart is welded together and therefore can be considered one giant wire, you would need a short to the frame along with someone touching the side of the battery not on the frame.

Anything else (ie: Either pole touching the cart and you not touching the other side of the battery, or the battery shorting out on the cart) would result in either no circuit at all or all the current flowing through the shortest/most conductive path (up to the closest piece of metal completing the circuit, ie: via the metal that holds the wheel in place).

Now, if somehow the carts are made so, say, one side of the cart cannot conduct to the other side, you're golden.

The only methods of shocking people through the carts I can think of would involve static electricity (likely), induction (not likely, but wouldn't require modifications to the cart), or the carts being connected like bumper cars (LOL). :)

Saltwater is a conductor of electricity.

Wet salty floor + (soon to be) wet salty cart = dissipation of static electricity.

Even after drying, the salt with the moisture in the air will still help conduct the static electricity. This is a good thing.

@PLATTWORX: Ever heard the phrase "If it goes without saying, don't say it". Well, if you ever have to say something along the lines of "Maybe I should be quiet about this" or "I know I should not be saying this", you should take your own advise.

@Outrun1986: I don't know where you are from, but in alot of the small towns around where I am, the same phenomena has happened. Walmart moves in and where there was nothing, a shopping area has sprung up. In fact, across the border in Kentucky, a shopping mall has come back to life, new eateries are moving in and construction in that area is plentiful. All because one very nice Walmart moved into the area.

@MerryLifeAndaShortOne: I have my own theory about those who shoot off their mouths about how shopppers at Walmart, Target, Circuit City, *insert current chain store whipping boy here*, are fat, poor, *insert en vogue stereotype here*. These are people who are trying to "act rich" (or at least semi middle class). They are the ones waiting on their welfare checks and use the public library computers. OR They are nuevo riche which is the same as new rich white trash. They didn't grow up with money, so they want to do what they think the rich do...shop at Nordstroms, hate on the "little poor people" at Walmart, drive to their environmental protest in their SUVs,etc.

Individuals who grew up with money and now have it themselves know one thing: How to keep that money. And part of it is not spending it irresponsibly.

(Oh, and Walmart does have some pretty nice patio furniture.)

Well, the fun way to learn is to start locking them!

The man who invented this type of cart was one of the first to publish such hacks because he had his patent basically stolen from him. Most of the carts use a VLF signal at about 8 kHz. The wheels (generally the front ones) have a 9 volt battery in them, a coil as an antenna to receive the signal, some electronics, and a brake. Once they receive the signal, the brake locks. Once they receive the unlock signal, the brake unlocks.

Wire is buried around the premesis to emit this signal and lock the carts. On the cart escalators, the wheels are sent the locking signal at the bottom of the escalator, and the unlocking signal at the top (this is the easiest way to receive the signals without having to use the internet).

It is easier to find the lock signal than the unlock signal. :)

All the chairs at where I work shock us, and they can really hurt and you can even see the electricity between the contacts some times, the chairs that they replaced for these would never shock us.

@WorldHarmony: The locally owned hardware store that doesn't stay open past 5, treats women very poorly (I know this from personal experience) and doesn't have any brand variety and has no means of ordering anything. The pizza place that when asked to speak to the manager you are told that she may or may not be in tomorrow, they really don't know, she is the daughter of the owner, blah blah blah. Tbey are also clueless about child labor laws and got into a funk when they were reported. The other nonchain resturant in town that closes for home football games. I told a couple of the football players about this and they all laughed. I could go on and on. Places that lack basic technology, have extremely high prices, stores that are basically run by snobs or the woman with the rich husband who gave her a business because she thinks it will "be fun", places that expect you to run on their schedule, etc. etc. etc.

For the next 6 months, if you pushed the carts with your hands resting on the metal part (instead of the rubber handle) you got a series of mini-shocks every few feet. I'd assumed it was a variant of the "new dress shoes on a shag carpet" method of annoying your kid brother.

Then, winter arrived. The shiny new carts got crapped on by the weather and dirty boots walked on the nice new floors and the shocks went away. Canadian winter - it destroys more than just your soul.

@PLATTWORX:

I sleep very well at night. In fact, I sleep better at night because I bought the most comfortable bed I've ever owned with the money I save by shopping at Walmart. You can pay for overpriced goods if that's what it takes to make you happy. Personally, I'd rather have more money in the bank.

Lots of grocery stores these days use "intelligent" shopping carts - ones which know when they've reached the edge of the parking lot via sensors, and will lock the wheels up if you attempt to wheel them away (as, say, a homeless person or a can-collector might do). Grocery stores lose tons of carts each year to these situations, and have developed a cart to foil the thieves.

Now, ponder what would happen if there were a short in the wiring for those sensors? Low-voltage shocks throughout the metal frame of the cart, maybe? With some people being more sensitive to the electricity than others, the complaints would be sporadic... I mean we're only talking 9-12V DC here, probably. As someone else said, the amount of electricity in a battery you'd touch to your tongue...

Personally, I'm sad when the big box stores cause smaller stores to close up, and make no mistake, they do. As a consequence, many cities across the country now look exactly the same with their Starbucks, Best Buys, McDonalds, Borders and WalMarts. The loss of local flavor is one of the saddest cultural consequences of these huge retailers. The nasty elitist insults are another.

Huh... It might be a regional thing. I'm in Phoenix as well! It doesn't happen at the Business Costco on Indian School and 35th ave, but it does happen at the Avondale and N Phoenix (Cave Creek and 101). It may be the carts, though, because I primarily use the flat beds at the Business Costco and the regular shopping carts at the other two.

Seems I'm not the only one. This doesn't happen at Target, Fry's etc. Only at friggn' Costco. It's got to be a combination of their waxed concrete floors and their shopping carts.

Then again, some of us are more prone to it than others (different skin types?). During the summer here in Phoenix, even the water from a running faucet will shock me. I bought one of those electrostatic discharger things you attach to your keychain and it helps reduce the shock, though it's mainly useful to prevent the shocks from my car.

Many stores near me have grounding straps on the carts.

@11:04 AM:

There's also an entire episode of PTBS that explains the WalMart hate phenomenon and exposes the horrid racism that backs it.

...

@11:13 AM:

I guess a lot of people here don't really think of those living in poverty when posting from an upper middle class POV, but don't assume that everyone has the privilege of having different options. A lot of people just shop where they can, and for a lot of people, that store is Walmart.

@11:17 AM:

The local Walmarts are the domain of white trash and immigrants, everyone else shops somewhere else.

I can has FTW now?

I knew that didn't make much sense because the carts *constantly* shock you, but that's the only store in Southern California where I've had this happen, and the two story thing was the thing that jumped out as being different.

Sounds like it's something else, though. They're metal carts, no anti-theft system. I'm pretty sure they're painted but can't remember specifically. If the grounding strap thing would work, I wonder if I could fashion my own grounding strap to bring with me and hook on to the cart while I shop?

What does this mean? What types of places "deserve to lose" business? What types of businesses "deserve" to be lost?

@bohemian:
Good for you! How many more stereotypes can you fit into 1 post?

I'm asian, make good money, not fit but not sporting the cankle look yet, and I shop at the local Walmart. Prices are cheaper! Yes, for somethings, I will go to local shops for. When I used to live up in Washington, I would try and get special occassion steaks and roasts from Green Valley meats. I probably wont be buying a 5 piece dining room set from them, but I did buy my patio furniture from Walmart.

The Walmart near me has exceptional service. The cashiers are friendly and there are people around who are willing to help me. The lines aren't too long; the self checkout is easy to use. For most needs, they are there. Plus, they are open 24 hours a day, which fits my weird schedules.

Walmart bashing is in. Its hip, but ultimately, Walmart is here to stay. Don't push your religious beliefs on me! Let ME push MY socio-economical/political beliefs on YOU!

@pkoutoul:

* I did get a chuckle out of "land manatee", though.

If Walmart wasn't here in this area we would all be drinking overpriced, expired 4$ gallons of milk from Kmart (shudder)!

No, WalMart is the best thing that happened here. Because of WalMart other retailers were forced to actually compete. Because of WalMart and it's 24-hour shopping other retailers are now open past 8 pm on weekdays and 6 pm of weekends. You are welcome to keep believing the groupthink that WalMart ruins communities, but it's just a pack of lies.

Me, I'll stick to facts rather than BS. Would you like me to link you to some? I can dig them up for you if you'd like. There's also an entire episode of PTBS that explains the WalMart hate phenomenon and exposes the horrid racism that backs it.

How can I be aware of what doesn't exist?

WalMart doesn't push out local stores (There's just as many as before WalMart existed in my city, in fact, after WalMart appeared, more new stores moved in closer to them), WalMart pays average wages, and WalMart gives above average benefits. I have never yet met an unhappy WalMart worker, and I've been there at 3 am chatting with the employees--they could have easily confided displeasure with their job in me rather than literally tearing about the store for 15 minutes to help me find things (Something Zeller's employees have never done for me).

WalMart is also plagued by people trying to force them into unacceptable locations. This has happened to all the WalMarts around here except the one in my city. The reasons are always absolutely pathetic (From "A WalMart makes the view we have from our church retreat ugly (put in a Zeller's instead)." to "WalMart will cause more traffic on the 4 lane street. Put it at the city limits where there's only a two lane road instead.")

That's always been what I have found out when I investigated anything to do with WalMart. I also know that while I shop at WalMart for many items, the only business they are taking away is business other places deserve to lose: Other retailers not only don't provide such good service, but they charge for grocery bags now, in addition to the other stores being a pain in the ass about allowing local sports teams to make money via BBQ sales at the door (WalMart has these all the time). Clearly I'm going to shop where my business is appreciated and where my community is supported.

Or is this happening somewhere down south where it is very dry?

Very little information here as always..

I know I should be quiet, but why are you all shopping Wal-Mart?? Are you still not aware of the hundreds of businesses it forces out when one opens? The low wages they pay and poor benefits? COME ON, go to another store and be able to sleep at night.

And reading the description from the OP... i was expecting a full blown sexploration scene any minute... "I began to touch different parts of the cart while pushing it to see if there was something to this..."

My mind is irrevocably dirtied I guess.

I used to get this at Sam's Club. It felt as if the cart was pricking my finger, then I realized it was shocks.

*Puts on tinfoil hat*

The problem is they're painted. The paint means there's very little metal to touch. The wheels build up static electricity as the cart is moved. Rather than being able to discharge the small amount in them the moment you don't touch the handle the static charge builds until it can overcome the dielectric properties of the paint.

If you find a non-painted part of the cart (or just make one :) you can hold onto it and solve the problem. Of course, you'll build charge instead and will have to remember to often touch other metal items to pass it on (hopefully they're grounded).

This could be alleviated by putting grounding straps on the carts. Some places do this already by welding a chain to the carts that drags on the ground (it might not be for the purpose, but those carts won't shock you because the static will be dissipated anyways).

Shocking... blame Walmart!

I get shocked at Costco... a lot. Not only by the prices, but some days, the static discharge is more than other days. I think its just the wheels turning that create static. Its fun to shock people though!