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April 29, 2010

Important safety tip -- do not throw water on an oil fire

We just had this happen in the upstairs apartment in our house.

One of the tenants was cooking, the oil overheated and caught on fire. She threw water on the fire.

The water superheats, boils immediately, and the steam carries the flaming oil into the air, giving you a rising plume of fire. That's what she got upstairs; the ceiling is now covered in soot.

She is ok; she is only mentally scarred, not physically scarred.

For a vivid demonstration, watch the following (UK) 30 second public service announcment:

Posted by Jerry B. Altzman at 11:05 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

April 7, 2008

File under “we knew that already”

Not sure how long the link will last, but:

Study ties bedroom TV to unhealthy habits in teens

(read more here.)

Let’s see now...given a choice between deadening your senses behind a closed door in a bedroom, and working up a sweat, teenagers are going to pick...

(No, they boys do not have a TV in their room. In fact, we don’t even have a digital converter yet, so in 2009, we won’t be able to watch over-the-air TV at all.)

More tech soon.

Posted by Jerry B. Altzman at 10:51 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)