Ben Franklin is spritzing some carrots while making breakfast. Unbeknownst to him, his toaster has a bad cord, and a bare wire has come in contact with the metal housing of his toaster, making it energized. Ever the original multitasker, he continues spraying the carrots and reaches over to get the toast, but touches the energized housing instead. This is a fatal error because the plumbing is bonded and grounded to the neutral side of his service. Since the toaster does not have a ground plug and the metal housing of the toaster is not grounded to that plug, Ben has now become the grounding path for the electricity to return. Unfortunately, he didn't invent a GFCI-protected receptacle for the kitchen, and the current flows through his body, right through his heart and, in this case, it's the end of our "grounding father.