A combo of dry desert air and deep seventies shag carpet led to constant, chronic, zingy static electricity. As an attempt to discharge the static and avoid the pop! dammit! zap, we flicked doorknobs, walls, and jambs before touching our tender handflesh to their surfaces. As a result, our fingers on the nail-side tended to be chronically sore. As my brothers and I also know, the flicking method was employed on siblings — not only could you effectively shock your target, but the hard flick added an extra soupçon of aggravation.

Photo: Lightning (shot in Glendale, AZ) by flickruser Kingdafy. Thanks for letting me use it!