Current flow essentially is a surface effect ... the more surface available, the more readily the current flows. This is why, for example, power cords typically are made up of many smaller strands of wire twisted together; the current flows along the outside of each little wire, and the exteriors of many little wires offer a greater area than does a single wire of a diameter equivalent to that of the bundle.
Incidentally, when working on an energized circuit, it is adviseable, apart from the obvious consideration of keeping one's self isolated from relative or absolute ground, to have just one hand, and as few and as closely-together-as-possible fingers of that hand as may be practicable, in contact with the energized circuit. No jewelry ... watches, bracelets, rings, etc, is a great idea, too. You might get burned, but you prolly won't get killed (though if you get burned, its very likely the component you touched got killed). Of course, its generally better practice to de-energize a circuit before working on it ... but this is just gonna take a second, I know what I'm doing, there's no need to go through all that as long as I'm careful, and ...
Flash! ZZZAAAP!
<whisp of acrid smoke>
Damn! That smarts.
</shakes hand>
<looks at charred component>
Ohhhhh, bummer ... now I gotta replace one of those, too ...
