I think this shows that a little knowledge is dangerous. I saw an extremely intelligent induvidual(we were about 12 at the time) stick a paperclip in an outlet at school, using a wooden pencil for insulation. It arc'd from the paperclip through the eraser(insulator) to the graphite through the wood(insulator) to his hand, sent sparks everywhere and he was just standing there blank like his soul had been ripped from his body. It turned his lips and fingernails purple.

Real life is a lot more complicated than it is in the books. Not touching the rivet is DEFINITELY NOT adequate protection. I wouldn't go anywhere near high voltage or high current. The voltage threshold through soft tissue is only about 4 volts. Don't mess with it. Respect the power. Don't forget that air can conduct across a high enough voltage. The closer you get, the less voltage is required.

We had an automated fullerene-manufacturing reactor in a lab I used to work in that ran around 30 volts, 100 amps across a carbon arc in nitrogen atmosphere with a gap maybe half an inch and that was enough to generate 5000 degree gas temperatures. Electricity is definitely not something to be taken lightly.