Cornelius Cathode, electronics misfit,

Saved up his dough and bought him a kit,

Did away with instructions; "For beginners," said he,

"I know what I'm doing, just watch me and see."

He finished in jig time, plugged the thing in.

Smoke, fire and sparks burned off his smug grin.

Percival Prod paid no heed,

To where he placed the meter lead,

To where he set the meter switch,

Red or black, no matter which.

Now pity poor Perc who repents his sin,

With the meter needle wrapped 'round the pin.

Timothy Twerp was most astounded,

When what he thought was-WASN'T grounded.

In fact, one could say, he was really transfixed

With his thumb on pin 3 of a live 6L6.

A wizard at wireless named Wallace McGee,

Never thought he'd be caught by the old FCC;

But to his surprise, they received him quite well.

Unlicensed, his choice was a fine or a cell.

Other Carl Kohler Masterpieces:

Readers of Popular Electronics magazine in the 1950's through 1970's (including me) looked forward to Carl Kohler's many humorous electronics-related stories and illustrations a few times each year. Carl's leading man was one of print media's first DIYers, and his wife suffered his often less than successful escapades in a sporting manner. Christoverre Kohler, Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Sylvia Kohler's son , contacted me to provide some amazing additional information on his parents. Be sure to read Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre.

• Operation Blub - July 1958
• Familiar Farces - January 1960
• The Truth Detector - May 1955
• Live Wire with a Loot Locator - June 1969
• The Great Electron-Pedantic Project - Feb 1970
• Dig That Reel Flat Response - May 1956
• I Married a Superheterodyne - February 1956
• Unpopular Electronics - August 1959
• Operation Chaos - June 1956
• Thin Air, My Foot - July 1956

• FUNIAC - June 1957
• The Mettle Detector - April 1957
• My Misguided Missile - February 1959
• High Tide in the Tweeter - October 1956
• The R/C Cloud - February 1960
• Hi-Fi Guest List - May 1959
• Kool-Keeping Kwiz - June 1970
• Boner Box - March 1956
• McWatts - December 1956