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Photo of the Week
Smokin' Strings of Sparklies

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Imagine sitting in your favorite chair on a glistening winter evening, enjoying cookies and a hot cup of cocoa. Ahhhhh. Suddenly your nose twitches, and you detect the unmistakable smell of a short- circuit. You hop up, spill your cocoa, and frantically look around to locate the source before it becomes a fire. Just one of the many ways to put a little excitement into your otherwise peaceful evening. 

That's what happened to the person who sent these pictures in. He finally noticed that half the lights on his Christmas tree were out, then saw streams of white smoke drifting into the air. He yanked the power cord and quickly inspected:  the plug to the second string of lights had experienced a melt-down.

This is a good example of where things were being done right (he only had two strings plugged in) but a malfunction still occurred. It's a good thing he was home to catch it before it caused a fire, and folks, that's the lesson that can learned here. When you leave your home this holiday season, unplug your Christmas lights. After all, if you're not around to catch a short-circuit when it happens ... well, it could be disastrous. And nobody wants that around the holidays.