Snow shoveling: U.S. hospitals treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow

Source: Wall Street Journal: Jan 11, 2011

By ANN LUKITS

Snow shoveling: U.S. hospitals treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow, according to a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine that analyzed data from 100 emergency departments from 1990 to 2006.

Reuters

A worker shoveled snow after the late December blizzard in New York. The study, the first national survey of snow-shoveling injuries, said the activity places extraordinary demands on the cardiovascular system and can raise heart rates above recommended upper limits after only two minutes. Freezing temperatures also constrict peripheral blood vessels, further stressing the heart. Two-thirds of shoveling injuries occurred in men, and 15% of injuries were in children under 18 years old. More than half of injuries resulted from acute musculoskeletal exertion, 20% from slips and falls, and nearly 7% from cardiac problems, such as heart attack.

The study said most shovels contribute to injuries because of their non-ergonomic design, which hasn't changed in over a century. Researchers recommend shovelers under 18 be supervised, people should warm up with light exercise before shoveling and sedentary individuals should consider hiring someone for the task.

Caveat: Researchers said their findings underestimate the number of injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shoveling because only cases treated in emergency departments were included.

Title: Snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated in US EDs, 1990 to 2006.

Save Your Soap!

What do you do with your bar of soap remnant once it's worn down to a shadow of it's original self?
Do you throw yours away? Collect them? Give them to Ted Williams?

I have come up with a solution to save your soap remnants, adding at least a weeks worth of use on an annual basis, possibly more.

Step 1: Grab a new bar of soap, bring it in the shower

Step 2: Use your old soap remnant (I like to do this when it's still one piece if possible)

Step 3: Notice that the old soap is now pliable after using it

Step 4: Squeeze the old soap onto the new bar of soap with two hands (I interlock my fingers together and clamp with my palms as hard as possible)

Step 5: put the soap on it's tray and let stand/dry until the next usage




Congratulations, you have now successfully fused your old soap with the new soap!

Radio Shack BAD Staples GOOD

I had to replace the battery to the garage door opener and stopped at Sears Hardware to make the $4.50 purchase. They were sold out of the http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg/200px-Battery-lithium-cr2032.jpg CR2032 battery so my next stop was Radio Shack, but their price was a whopping $5.85 for one battery. Pressed for time, I made the purchase. My next errand was at Staples to buy some of my favorite G2 pens that seem to disapear all too often when I noticed that they were selling a 2 pack of CR2032 batteries for $3.50 -- that's what I call a Radio Shack Ripoff!! Go Staples.