Latest accident at Six Flags is another safety reminder

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps it’s the word amusement that helps make amusement park accidents seem so devastating. The latest accident I heard about on the news tonight is too awful to imagine and is a reminder to go over safety lessons with teens over and over and over again.

As a parent of a teen, I know that the diatribe of safety lessons may not actually keep my daughter that much safer, but what else is a parent to do? Children get past the point where we hold their hands as they go from one ride to the next.

When they are little, we snap photos as they go in circles on rides that only go in a slow circle. Police cars, motorcycles, boats, fire engines–all with fake wheels and steering wheels that follow each other around and around. We wave at our children and they wave back, thrilled each time they come closer to us and then move further away until they stop and they are with us once more.

Then, the children who were once content to be at an amusement park with us–their parents, are chomping to go off on their own and we let them. We tell them the warnings. We tell them what not to do. We say, “Be careful.”

Mostly they do.

But when they don’t, it can become a nightmare.

Saturday a young man didn’t heed the warnings and set off over fences of the restricted area of the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta to retrieve a baseball cap. That’s one of the theories of what he was doing there where the ride could hit him.

The force was so great that he was decapitated. [see CBS News article.]

I have never told my daughter to not jump a fence at an amusement park. It’s one more item for my list. Maybe it will do some good.

Here is a page from the Web Site Safer Parks that details risk factors for various types of rides to help you and yours be safer this summer if you are heading to an amusement park.

Also, here’s a post Justin wrote in June last year about other ride accidents that points out the importance of safety.

When is it stupid to step on a ferry or climb in a large wooden boat?

by Jamie Rhein on

The news of the recent ferry accident in the Philippines reminded me of the many ferries I’ve taken in my travels. The journey across the wide mouth of the Gambia River between Banjul, the capital, and Barra, on the side of The Gambia where I lived, comes to mind the most.

Sometimes I made the trip in a large open wooden boat called a pirogue that would have given my mother a heart attack if she had known what I was up to.

When traveling in countries where bridges are scarce, ferry crossings are necessary. If you want to get from here to there, you step on. Generally, thoughts of accidents and the lack of life preservers are fleeting. Instead, one enjoys the thrill of watching one shore grow further away as another comes closer.

In the Gambia, a ferry is filled with people, cars, trucks, animals, motorcycles–basically whatever can be crammed on. It’s a mish mash of no order in particular. I always headed to the top deck to escape the crush.

Of all the crossings I’ve made in my life–and I’m not sure I could count them all, there’s only one that I should have never tried. Once, in a hurry to get to Banjul and not willing to wait for calmer waters, I climbed into one of the large wooden boats as it rocked furiously on the churning river.

A storm might have been coming in, but the owner of the boat, probably looking to make some money, embarked on the trip with about 70 people perched on the wooden boards that served as benches. Every once in a while, the top edge of the boat dipped within a few inches of the surface. We all shrieked each time.

Halfway out, my friend said to me, “If the boat turns over, swim away from it as fast as you can and wait.”

The idea was that the people who couldn’t swim would drown and we could swim back to the boat to hold on until rescued. If we stayed around the boat, people would pull us under.

Sure, I nodded, imagining myself a very strong swimmer, and not thinking too deeply about what such an accident would actually look like.

The truth is, I’m not a strong swimmer but at age 22 that sounded like a plausible plan. As years have passed, I realize just how dumb we were to get on that boat. And, lucky that we made it to the other side.

The last time I took the big ferry across, a cow fell off of it into the water after the ferry pulled away from shore. As I watched the cow swim towards land, its head and horns visible, I wondered just how the owner would get it back. The great thing about The Gambia is that someone would have held onto that cow until the owner came back to get it, even if it took all day and more.

This is a picture I took of the ferry in The Gambia. I was heading to the top deck. The quality stinks, (it’s an old photo, but you get the idea.) For a better picture, click here.

The top picture is of one of the boats similar to the one I took whenever I didn’t take a ferry. The crossing was not quick.

For a detailed account of the ferry crossings in Banjul and a visual look at how wide that river is, click here.

Gadling Take Five: Week of June 14-June 20

by Jamie Rhein on

Food was once again on our minds here at Gadling. Actually, a lot was on our minds, but almost everyone had something to say about food.

  • Grant wanted to know if you could eat what Andrew Zimmern eats on Bizarre Foods. Grant couldn’t. I’m not particularly fond of intestines either.
  • Matthew told us what foods to avoid in Japan.
  • Erik told us how to not lose food because of motion-sickness.
  • Iva told us how the Chinese are renaming their food so we don’t get sick from the names.
  • And, Kelsey reminded us to ask for the bill in a restaurant in Mexico so after you’ve eaten, you can pay.

Oh, and one more. If you’re around Heather in the galley of an airplane, keep your hands out of those lemons!

Avoid “un-packing breakfast” due to motion sickness

by Erik McLaughlin on

Lots of people get motion sickness. It is rumored that Christopher Columbus even had trouble with sea sickness. Fortunately, you don’t have to dread that ship, car or plane trip for fear of “un-packing your breakfast” in full public view. There are a number of effective treatments and preventions for those who suffer from motion sickness — the goal is to keep trying until you find one that works, for you!

The basic problem with motion sickness is not in the stomach, but in the discoordination of the visual signals sent by the eyes, the inner ear (responsible for balance) and the brain. The Travel and Tropical Medicine Manual cited one study involving over 20,000 passengers crossing the English Channel and the North and Irish Seas. Their data showed that motion sickness was more common in females than males and the older you were, the less likely you were to be effected. Over one-third of the passengers in the study felt symptoms of motion sickness. For the lucky ones that have never felt motion sickness, the symptoms include cold sweats, nausea and weakness.

Where to sit and Where to look

Choose a seat with the smoothest ride, if possible. Over the wings of a plane, the front seat of a car, forward facing seats and laying flat on your back are all places to help minimize motion sickness. When the “feeling of yuck” starts to creep in, try to focus on a distant object (it will be moving the least) or close your eyes. Avoid reading or focusing on objects close by — their motion is much more obvious.

What to Take

There are several options for prevention and treatment of motion sickness. The two main medicines used are Scopolamine and Anti-histamines. Anybody who has been on a cruise has likely seen the scopolamine patch, on fellow passengers. Anti-histamines that are commonly used include diphenhydramine (Benadryl), promethazine and meclizine (Antivert). All of these medications come in different forms, some including patches, chewable tablets and pills. Scopolamine has some common side effects including dry mouth and blurry vision and should not be taken without prior discussion with your doctor due to some interactions with other medicines and medical conditions such as glaucoma. Anti-histamines commonly cause sedation, which, depending on your personal trip, may be a good thing. Just like with scopolamine, check with your doctor before taking these medicines.

The Rough Guide to Travel Health discusses several “homeopathic” remedies to motion sickness, including Cocculus 30c, Nux vomica 30c and Petroleum 30c taken in combination. One of my favorite “natural remedies” for nausea is Ginger and it can be found in many forms, including capsules. Although there are limited studies using ginger in treatment of motion sickness, it’s has been shown by some researchers to be effective in chemotherapy induced and pregnancy related nausea.

Motion Sickness Bands are a hot topic in travel medicine. Do they work? Are they a waste of money and do they only provide a placebo effect? I know some people who swear by them to prevent motion sickness. I do not use them, personally, but I have also never had a problem. What I do know is that there is conflict in the medical literature. The bands work by applying pressure to the P6 Neiguan accupressure point at the wrist. Several studies have shown this method to be effective in controlling other causes of nausea (pregnancy induced and during medical procedures) but no real research has been done with motion sickness that I know of.

Real Life

Like with anything, having a good trip requires some bit of pre-planning. Speak with your doctor about some options you can use for motion sickness and try them out before your trip. Four hours into your 10 day cruise is not the time to find out your chosen medication is not working or causing you to sleep away your holiday. I always try to live by “real world rules: two is one, one is none”. Carrying a back-up motion sickness remedy is a good idea, should you find yourself out of your first option or not able to access it. Lastly, if you are going to need to “un-pack breakfast” on a boat, try to make it to the down-wind side.

For some more reading, check out:

CDC Traveler’s Health: Motion Sickness

Could you eat what Andrew Zimmern eats?

by Grant Martin on

One of our favorite shows here on Gadling is “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern,” and although we tease Zimmern once in a while, we love watching the show.

I think that part of the reason that many people watch the show is just to see what crazy food Zimmern is going to push down his throat each episode. Whether this is grasshopper pizza, pigs ears or chicken uterus, everyone wants to see Zimmern eat something disgusting and secretly wants him to retch. It’s kind of like on Fear Factor when they’re forced to eat cockroaches and worms. It’s so so bad. But you just can’t tear yourself away.

If you were in Andrew Zimmern’s place though, could you handle being in a tough foreign country eating seriously questionable food? I know I couldn’t. I have a hard enough time with scallops let alone braided intestines.

On one of my favorite new websites, GraphJam, submitter Ryan sums it up pretty well in this Venn Diagram: Places I would not go + Things I would not eat = “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.”

Which isn’t to say I’m going to stop watching the show. I’ll just be watching it from my sofa with a bowl of Easy Mac.