Random wondering...

[siercia]

Would it actually be possible to choke (to death or damage) on a piece of ice?

From what I remember (and can find googling) you have about 3-4 minutes of being unable to breathe before serious damage occurs, and 7-8 minutes before death. If you hold a piece of ice of a size small enough to be able to be inhaled in your mouth, it melts with 2-3 minutes.

So, my theory is that while it would be scary as hell, the ice would melt to a size small enough to be inhaled fully (which while not great for you, is generally surviveable) or expelled safely before there was any real risk of brain damage.

Thoughts? Is there some fatal flaw in my logic?

I've wondered this since someone fussed at me for giving Widget ice out of my Dunkins when she was little, and today someone in badparents reports being fussed at by her doctor for doing similar.

Comments

[gigglinggorgon.livejournal.com]

That's a good question. I was always told about it being dangerous... hrm... I think I'll get a piece of ice big enough/small enough to choke on, hold it in my hand and see how long until it's melted. Two min would mean brain damage, so I think that's the max for it being at *all* safe.

[siercia]

Don't forget that it wouldn't even have to melt away entirely, just smaller enough to be easily dis-lodgable.

[siercia]

Hee.

Don't worry. I'm quite sure I gave the fusser a look like they were retarded and said that it would be fine.

And yeah, that was pretty much my thought on the matter. Of course, the people who fuss over crap like that are also often the ones who freak out because I let Widget sip my coffee... while feeding their own kids Coke. *eyeroll*

[kaasirpent]

What astounds me is the number of things that have become 'dangerous' over the last 30 years. I mean, statistically, if you believe everything that they NOW say will do you in, I should have died a horrible, fiery death sometime around 1972.

Yet, somehow, I made it. I've fallen out of trees, which I climbed without adult supervision; fallen off a trampoline while trying to learn to do a back-flip; ridden in the front seat of a car standing up with the car going 75 on a two-lane, hilly road; eaten dirt (with a SPOON!); ridden a bicycle without more padding than your average NFL football player wears; gone outside wearing no sweater when it was 50 degrees out; and even picked up candy off the floor and eaten it long after 5 seconds have gone by. I also used to routinely eat those crescent-shaped ice 'cubes' made by refrigerators you might find in the average home, and I never once choked on one.

And somehow, I managed to live to age 39. I'm either a statistical anomaly or (and this is the more believable answer) kids are a whole lot less fragile than people seem to think.

The woman needs to take a chill pill.

[cfred.livejournal.com]

eaten dirt (with a SPOON!)

I can't remember the citation, but there was a scientific study done which concluded that children have more allergies nowadays because they don't eat dirt.

Keeping things so clean for kids means they aren't exposed to dirt and other allergens, so they never build up healthly reactions to them. Instead, they get allergic reactions when they're exposed later on.

[siercia]

That's one working theory.

It sounds reasonable to me, although a hole is blown in it when you study populations of inner city kids. They tend to have the highest rates for asthma and allergies, and are often living in the dirtiest of conditions (Not making a judgement call here about class and cleanliness, this is what you get from the reports on the studies).

There have been studies that show living with a reasonable number of pets decreases the risk of allergies greatly. And hey, it gives me a rationalization when I look at how messy my house is =)

[cfred.livejournal.com]

I'm not making a judgment call either, but I recall the study saying that the inner city kids' homes had higher-than-average levels of cockroach infestations. I guess the conclusions are that the extremes are bad, and cockroaches are bad. :)

[siercia]

Don't even get me started on this one - it drives me nuts too.

I think the two biggest contributors are:

better communication - you know (or know of) more people, not to mention the ridiculous news coverage, so the accidents you would never have heard about even 3o years ago you do hear about. Which raises your awareness of the possibility (however remote) that it *could* happen, even if it's not likely. Give you more to fear. (When you hear that say (all numbers are made up), 1,500 kids were killed last year in bicycle accidents that could have been prevented if they'd been wearing helmets it's all too easy to think "oh my god, Susie could be killed while riding her bike" instead of "God, only 1500 our of what, 3 million kids? Pretty good odds, that is.")

fewer kids: people are so much more invested in their one or two children than families that have lots of kids. Not to say that parents in large families wouldn't be devastated to lose a child, but I think it is different when you lose your only kid.

*shrug* It is a rather ridiculous mindset. Of course, I also have to fight the urge to follow Widget around all the time to try and protect her. Darn those instincts =)

[cfred.livejournal.com]

I think the communication factor is likely also a function of media sensationalism. Baby Jessica falls in a well? It's on national TV. Plus, come sweeps-time, they ratchet it up: "This substance has been consumed by every person to die of cancer, and the schools are giving it to your children! We'll have the story tonight at 11."

I also wonder how much the general sense of don't-blame-me is at play. I fell off my bike in sixth grade and scraped my head up pretty bad (on the day before picture day, no less). It was an accident, or if anything, my fault for where I was riding the bike. There was no outcry to blame the bike manufacturer or the public works department for leaving loose gravel on the street.

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

This substance has been consumed by every person to die of cancer, and the schools are giving it to your children! We'll have the story tonight at 11.


Oh, you mean water. (http://www.dhmo.org/)

I've done some of my own research (http://www.matthewmiller.net/dihydrogen_monoxide.html) into this dangerous substance.