Bend Points Active Even When Not Physically Touching

[southboundpachyderm]

I found an interesting bend in a children's toy, and then realized that it still works even when the leads are just close to each other, but not physically touching. In fact, the sound is a bit different that way from when it's a physical connection. Has anyone run into something like this? I have no idea what could be causing it. Some kind of electromagnetic interference, maybe?

It creates a great sound, though, so I'm trying to figure out how to include it in the project and be able to control it in a more predictable way. Since I can't use a toggle (the two bend points wouldn't be far enough away), I was thinking I could use a couple of RCA jacks with some distance between them and just patch it, although I'm not sure that would work. Is there a better way to handle this kind of thing?

[Circuitbenders]

It'd possibly work with just touch contacts. Wire the bend points to a couple of bolts or similar and see what happens when you touch one or both of them with your fingers

[southboundpachyderm]

The effect actually goes away completely when I touch the points with my fingers. It seems to be reduced even when my hands are nearby.