Do people really fly backwards when zapped with electricity?

I know I did.—don’t ever put a bobby pin in the electrical outlet—lol!

I would think that as the electricity flows through your body your muscles which rely on electric pulses will contract violently, causing your body to move. I suppose it also depends on where you are hit and how strong is the current.

That is natural. To avoid further consequences for being electrocuted. Another good reflect that will save your life.

I have, unfortunately had many electrical mishaps. One of my first memories was getting zapped on a light cord when I was about three. I can’t remember if I got thrown back at that time but I saw stars.

Actually the most damage from electrical shocks is caused by your reaction. You immediately jerk back and sometime spasm. I guess to the bystander, it looks like you are being thrown back.

I was once zapped by 24,000 volts from a color TV power supply. The guys in the room said it looked like all the bones were removed from my body, as I sank to the floor. I don’t remember because, to me, it felt like someone hit me in the back of the head with a hammer. I blacked out before the pain had time to arrive and woke up on the couch where the guys carried me.

They told me that it was a good think that I kept breathing because no one there was prepared to mouth to mouth.

I was knocked backwards, just plugged myself into the mains when i was like 11. It caused my to be knocked to the floor from a crossed-legged position

From what I’ve seen, you only would get thrown back if you were balanced on something. That would be a good thing because that would break the contact. I guess it depends on the source, the amps, the type of contact, other variables. if you happen to grab a live line, for instance, you go rigid and remain in contact with the source, which is a bad thing. I was close to a lightning strike one time. I say close in that the bottoms of my cotton pant legs stood out at attention for about a second or two. That was close enough. I don’t think that lightning would actually throw you back either, because the ions of opposite charges are making a connection between the ones in the air and the ones on the ground.

I was shot about 3–5 feet before

@joeysefika it wasn’t the electricity that threw you back, it was the spasm. In fact, you were lucky, the other effect is to cause your muscles to lock down and you stay connected until you cook or someone drags you off the circuit.

A working lineman once told a group of us (boy scouts) that it’s the low-voltage stuff (house wiring—110V) that will kill you. High voltage generally does “blow” you away with its force if you approach or touch it. House wiring, on the other hand, if you happen to touch it with the ‘palm’ side of your fingers, will cause your muscles to contract, so you end up “grabbing” a live wire and unable to let go, leading to electrocution. (The same kind of flinch-and-contract reaction that can cause you to burn your hand on a hot handle of an object.)

He told us that if you’re ever touching a wire that you have the least suspicion of being ‘hot’ to touch it with the back of your hand, since then you can’t grab it involuntarily. Even better, of course, is to know beyond doubt that the wire isn’t hot, that the circuit is locked out properly and cannot be energized while you’re working on it (and that you know what you’re doing) ... or best of all, call a professional.

@Ron_C I had a cooking episode myself while trying to repair a hot water heater. Couldn’t tear myself away because I was paralyzed. Thankfully the breaker tripped and cut the power fairly quickly.

In movies the stupid person is throw back a good couple of feet by some invisible force. I was wondering if that happened.

Yep. Been there, done that .

Depends on the power. High voltage and amperage can also transform you into a heap of ash.

I know that if the current is over 10mAs, your muscles are paralyzed temporarily.
If the current goes over 20mAs, breathing may be labored. Breathing may cease if current is 75mAs.
The death zone is 100–200mAs, because the current completely messes up your heartbeat. If it is over 200mAs, the heart will stop beating until the victim is revived.
Ok you may lose balance if balanced on something when electrified and fall backward, but I don’t know if it will blow you backward.