FOLKS PLEASE BE CAREFUL DON'T OPEN OLD TELEVISIONS UNLESS YOU GENUINELY UNDERSTAND THE RISK.

Just touching the insides can kill you worst case and that can be days or longer after it was switched off. Sometimes the chassis itself is live.

This is not like fiddling inside a computer where you tend to be pretty safe.

So if you value your life, sure play with old televisions - without opening them.

For sure, but I probably naively think that those who have the gumption to take the back off a TV would know this. As a kid, I used to play with an old TV by connecting the second anode lead to a 50 ft extension cord and walk around our damp basement zapping spiders with inch-long sparks. Fun times.

My worst shock was from an old tube shortwave receiver when reaching over it and learning that the antenna lead was hot by touching it.

When I was very young (~10yo), I was obsessed with taking apart any electronics I could get my hands in an attempt to figure out how it all worked.

Somehow I got my hands on a semi-functional CRT oscilloscope and of course took it apart. Within minutes of the initial disassembly, I accidentally discharged a large capacitor through my body. I still remember the blinding pain and passing out from literal shock. I'm lucky to be alive today. I gained a healthy fear of electricity that day.

Through the many years that followed I continued my trajectory in electronics, eventually designing and fabbing my own analog and digital circuits. Today I continue to be extremely careful whenever dealing with power circuitry. Always proceed with caution!