The air in my apartment was dry, and the electrical charges were building up frequently, causing long (1" to 0.5") sparks to jump from my fingers to anything grounded. As I carried a new 16" fluorescent tube across the carpeted floor to fix the closet light, the tube flickered in my hands. Furthermore, when I touched the contacts on the end of the tube to something grounded, the tube illuminated brightly for a split second.