[Jeffhs]

Years ago, I had a metal-cased Arvin model 540T AM radio. The case was green, the knobs plastic, and the radio used a short wire as an antenna, with a terminal on the back cover for an external one if the owner was in a weak-signal area and wanted to use an outdoor wire. Mine worked well for what it was, but as others have noted for radios of this type, it was a hot-chassis set; as such it could give the user a good shock if he/she touched the chassis or the external antenna terminal and ground at the same time. The chassis was supposed to be insulated from the cabinet by rubber grommets, but these often dried out over time, became hard and even conductive, effectively connecting the radio's hot chassis to the metal cabinet and, again, creating a serious shock hazard. I once read, in an old appliance repair magazine of the '50s-'60s, of one such radio that was installed on a shelf in a bathroom. The user was in the tub and tried to change the station or adjust the volume while still in the water; the radio somehow fell into the tub, and the lights went out when the house fuses blew. This could have had a very sad ending if the fuse hadn't blown, of course: the person in the tub could have been killed instantly by electric shock as soon as the radio hit the water.

One of the best things to happen to table radios, IMO, was the introduction of all-solid-state sets in plastic cabinets. This all but eliminated the shock hazard, unless the user ignored the warning on the back cover against removing said cover while the radio was plugged in and turned on. Some of these solid-state AC radios had interlock plugs on the back covers, as were commonly used on televisions and tube-type radios of the '50s-'60s, in an attempt to prevent such disasters.

Of course, the best way to prevent such accidents (and their horrible consequences) is not to use any kind of electric or electronic device (with the exception of electric shavers or hair dryers) in a bathroom or kitchen, although today's National Electrical Code requires that ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) be installed in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry areas, etc. of all new homes, or when upgrading the wiring in an older structure. Still, however, I would never put blind trust in a GFCI that it would work in every circumstance, or deliberately trip one just to see if it works, although most GFCIs have a test button which will do just that. I read an article in Popular Science or some other hobby magazine some years ago which stated, point blank, that GFCIs, fuses, circuit breakers, etc. are like fireproof buildings: good to know but unwise to test.