>In my experience, when encouraging people to follow safety rules you get better results with true examples that justify the rules than with exaggeration like this. If you tell a person one thing they know isn't true, they're liable to start thinking the other things you tell them aren't true.

As someone who comes from a compliance/human factors background I absolutely hate internet discussions of safety. They are chock full of people exaggerating everything for up-votes/likes/virtue points and while within a given community that may increase compliance it is the exact wrong way to increase compliance from people who are working under a different set of incentives.

>guaranteed instant death that, say a 25kV shock is

Also not true.

You can safely hold a metal rod into the air as a 20,000 volt tesla coil fires lightening bolts through the air and into your body then to the ground, because the coil is built in such a way to induce very little amperage across your body.

My point being, it's not just the voltage.

I was just imprecise with my language. What I should have said is "110v or 240v could kill you dead". And that is why the following sentences qualify what I was saying.

Household voltage is plenty to kill you, assuming the factors are aligned.

I have been shocked multiple times with household 110v and it was not pleasant at times and others it was barely a twinge. It all depends on how well you are grounded.

I had a very unpleasant shock once from a 12v car battery because I was sitting on the ground in shorts and fiddling with it somehow.