How a Couch Destroys PS2 Controllers

I had been puzzled over the last few months on how it is that we seemed to be going through PS2 controllers faster than rolls of toilet paper. In the span of 10 months, we had gone through over half a dozen PS2 controllers. They simply stopped working. Oldest son commented on how it was only after youngest two sons were playing that the controllers were getting wrecked somehow. Inspecting the controllers showed no obvious signs of destruction: they hadn’t been yanked on or smashed; the cords hadn’t been chewed on [as youngest would do several years ago – but the things still worked]. Observing the younger two at play, they weren’t pushing the buttons any harder or doing anything to the controllers any differently than they had over many years of play. We replaced the whole PS2 system thinking that perhaps the console was to blame. Nope. Within a week of the new system in place, two more controllers bit the dust. So what on Earth was going on?

We finally figured it out. It has to do with the couch. See, we bought a new couch just under a year ago. It’s a really nice couch. A large sectional covered in a nice wine coloured faux suede type of fabric. It fits the whole family with room for a couple more.

But, how, you ask, does the couch have anything to do with the destroyed PS2 controllers? I’ll tell you. We discovered quite by accident one day that second-youngest son gets quite animated when playing video games. He wiggles and squirms and flops around on the couch. When he does this, electrons are pulled from the surface of the couch into his body. As soon as he goes to touch anyone or anything, *ZAPPPPP*. It turns out that he was building up large amounts of static electricity and frying the controllers when he’d touch them.

I went out and bought a special bracelet for him to wear when he’s playing on the PS2. It has a rubber part that goes around his wrist which is attached to a wire that we then clip to the metal frame of the coffee table. In essence, we have to “ground” him in order for him to be able to play. We’ve had the bracelet for over two weeks now and we’re still on the same controller.