An African proverb says: 鈥淭here is only one kind of common sense, and 40 varieties of lunacy.鈥� Unfortunately, this summer will again prove it right.
There鈥檚 also an old song that goes: 鈥淪ummertime and the living is easy.鈥� But its theme can be a prelude to disaster. Every summer, what is supposed to be fun can turn person into a quadriplegic or with cause other severe injuries. And it happens to all ages.
It is mindboggling that every year, 1,400 children drown in wading pools. It could not happen if parents and grandparents were watching children every minute by the water.
Women can fall victim to an unusual injury while water-skiing at high speeds. The impact of a fall is like hitting a brick wall. If legs are apart, the sudden force of water can result in an unplanned vaginal douche. Some women have gone into shock after rapid blood loss due to a severe vaginal tear. The only solution is to wear reinforced water-skiing pants.
This summer, half the water-skiers who suffer mishap will be injured by striking another boat. Others will slam into fixed objects such as docks, pilings or the shore. Many will sustain severe injuries from their boat鈥檚 propeller.
Shriners Hospitals say 300,000 people are treated every year in emergency rooms due to lawnmower and other garden-tool accidents. Of these patients, 35,000 are children under 15 who lose hands, legs or their lives. Such accidents are waiting to happen when parents allow children to use power mowers.
The kinetic energy imparted by the rotating blades of a mower is three times the muzzle energy of a .357 Magnum pistol. This power can fire a rock on the grass at people standing nearby at speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, resulting in the loss of an eye.
One young ballet dancer lost her foot when a power mower fell on her her while she was riding it on a sloping lawn.
Don鈥檛 forget this ironclad rule: Never use bare hands to unclog power mower blades. Remember that even if the motor is turned off, the blade remains engaged.
The only safe approach is to remove the spark plug before examining the blade.
This golfing season, some players will be lifted off the ground by lightning that delivers 100,000,000 to 300,000,000 volts of electricity. This kills more people than hurricanes and tornadoes combined in the U.S. Lightning is 50,000 times hotter than the sun and strikes our planet 3.6 million times a year.
Lightning doesn鈥檛 just kill golfers. A few years ago, two women in London, died instantly when lightning struck their wired bras.
If lightning doesn鈥檛 kill, it can leave victims with major injuries to vital organs.
Some people sustain extensive burns. Others develop cardiac irregularities and neurological problems such as seizures and amnesia. Still others are left with ruptured ear drums and cataracts.
The first rule to eliminate the chance of dying from lightning is to avoid messing around with it. If you hear thunder and you鈥檙e having the best round of golf in your life, quit. Walk back to the club alone. And women should remove metal objects from their hair.
Tennis is a great game and a supposedly safe sport. But players forget that tennis balls can strike an eye at 200 kilometres an hour. This can cause massive hemorrhage, a torn detached retina and, sometimes, the loss of the eye.
But this injury is easy to prevent. Many tennis players believe that plastic lenses won鈥檛 break. Or that lenses with hardened glass are safe, or an open eye guard is adequate.
All these provide a false sense of security. The only good protection is a closed eye guard.
Death may be better than some injuries. Every summer, swimmers are paralyzed after diving into shallow lakes. They forget the 鈥済olden rule鈥� when plunging into unknown waters, 鈥淔irst time, feet first.鈥� One moment they are totally mobile, a split-second later, unable to move limbs for the remainder of their lives.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
