Are airport x-ray machines bad for your health?

by Annie Scott on

We all know from wearing those iron aprons at the dentist that x-rays are not good for you. Radiation is dangerous, and radiation poisoning can lead to very serious health problems and even death.

Radiation poisoning usually occurs when someone is exposed to a heavy amount of radiation for a short period of time, but in rarer cases, long term exposure to small doses can also be damaging. So, should frequent fliers be worried? What about pilots and cabin crew?

Millimeter-wave imaging-technology units, which are currently operating in 19 airports, don’t produce the kind of radiation we get from x-rays, but backscatter units like this do. Following the terrorism attempt on Christmas, the US has just ordered 150 backscatter screening systems (like the above).

Is it dangerous? Probably not. Rodale reports: “According to TSA, the amount of radiation you’re exposed to during a two-second millimeter-wave scan exposes you to radio-wave radiation that is 10,000 times less powerful than radiation levels that pulse from a cellphone.” They also note that the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement “found that a traveler subjected to at least 2,500 backscatter scans per year would barely reach the Negligible Individual Dose.”

Wait. Barely? That’s not really what we wanted to hear, but 2,500 would come to seven scans per day, every day. At that point, you’re not a traveler, you just have a weird hobby.

The concern that no one can shake (besides that of privacy) is that of machine stability and maintenance. Backscatter scanners do have the capability of doing harm; they just won’t if they’re functioning properly. Rodale adds, “If you feel uncomfortable going through advanced-imaging airport body-scan machines, know that you do have the right to an alternative search, although it may be in the form of a more invasive pat-down-type search by a security worker.”

For more information on radiation poisoning and radiation sickness, visit MayoClinic.com.

[via Rodale]

SkyMall Monday Bonus: Is The Travel Slanket TSA Friendly?

by Mike Barish on

How fitting is it that today’s SkyMall Monday featured the Siamese Slanket while the whole travel world is talking about the new TSA regulations? It seems that the TSA wants to make sure that our luggage and devices are safely stowed for the final 60 minutes of the flight so that our hands are completely visible to the flight crew. Even blankets have been outlawed during approach so that no one can discreetly ignite a device or fingerblast his lady friend. But what about the people who are always cold on planes (Read: 90% of humanity)? How will they stay warm in those cold metal tubes as they descend? These are reasonable questions that deserve humorous valid answers.Thankfully, SkyMall Monday is on the case. I am hereby demanding that the TSA answer this vital question: Can we wear the Travel Slanket during landing?

Sure, blankets are no longer permitted during this time, but that’s because the TSA is spooked that you’ll be whittling something explosive out of the view of the flight attendants. But the Travel Slanket keeps your hands exposed. There are no secrets with a Travel Slanket wearer. He wears his heart – and his willingness to follow the rules – on his fleece sleeves.

So, TSA, stop being so ambiguous and aloof and tell us what we all want to know: Is the Travel Slanket the ultimate safety and security compromise? We want answers. We want the truth. We want to fall asleep on our homophobic seatmate.

State Department website lists where American travelers have died abroad

by Katie Hammel on

The LA Times recently linked to a tool on the US State Department website that allows you to search by date range and country to find out where around the world Americans have died of “non-natural” causes.

The information goes back to 2002. No names or details of the deaths are disclosed, they are only reported as suicide, drowning, drug-related, homicide, disaster, or vehicle, air or maritime accident, and listed according to date. The disclaimer on the site states that the stats may not be entirely accurate however, as they only represent those deaths disclosed to the State Department.

So can this tool tell you where you should or shouldn’t go based on your likelihood of drowning, getting into an accident, or being killed as a tourist there? Not really. Circumstances of the deaths are, of course, not disclosed and there is no distinction between expats or people who have lived in the country for many years and those who are tourists visiting on vacation.

Even countries with high numbers of deaths shouldn’t automatically be crossed off your list. Mexico, for example, lists 126 American deaths in 2009. 36 of those were homicides. Sounds like a big number, but not as big compared to the 2.6 million Americans who fly to Mexico every year. As the LA Times points out, “the odds overwhelmingly suggest that your vacation will be nonfatal.”

Laptop desk that fits on your steering wheel …

by Annie Scott on


The Laptop Steering Wheel Desk has to be the most irresponsible, dangerous, stupidest invention I’ve seen in a long time. For just $24.95 plus shipping, you can take texting-while-driving to the next level.

Welcome to the most productive road trip ever! Just think, you could blog, work, Skype, play WOW, forward pictures of puppies and read the news — all from the comfort of the highway. Imagine what you’d get done on the Trans-Canada.

Seriously now … it’s like these “Cyberguys!” who sell it have no heart. Or they couldn’t see the forest for the trees. It does say: “For safety reasons, never use this product while driving.” But … yeah. Like that’s gonna happen. And they knew it when they made it. Next time you see a typo in a coworker’s e-mail, ask them if they were trying to make a left turn.

And now, onto the greatest thing about this product: The user reviews. They are completely hilarious. Good work America, we love you. Some highlights:

“I use it as a ‘mini-bar’ when the friends and I go out to the bars. I can quickly fix multiple shots of tequila for myself and the friends as we drive from one bar to the next. We also discovered that if you place a pillow on top of it and turn on the cruise control you can catch quick naps on the interstate.” — T. Meadows “TM”

“I loved my Laptop Steering Wheel Desk so much I got one for my 90yr old mother. She is an avid crossword puzzle fan and now she can work on them while she is driving back and forth from bingo at the senior center.” — S. Kelly

“This has been a total lifesaver. It allows me to prop my sheet music against the wheel, allowing me to play the guitar with both hands while driving.” — Brent A. Nelson

Jamie O’Shaughnessy had the following qualm:
“In several accidents that I have had whilst using this, the airbag causes the laptop screen to slam shut. I’ve suffered several broken fingers because of this. I have started to look around for airbag finger protection but have not yet found any…”

So, you know, get on that, Cyberguys!.

Many thanks to John Middleton for the tip.

Tied to a chair and robbed in a five-star hotel

by Annie Scott on

No matter who you are or how fancy your hotel is, inviting strangers to your room is a risky business. Just ask Robert J. Anello, a New York Lawyer who was staying at the lovely Ritz-Carlton, San Juan in Puerto Rico’s posh Isla Verde district (shown). He was tied up in his room with lamp cords and a necktie just before dawn on Monday, and had $800 cash and his two cell phones stolen.

Associated Press reports, “Police say two of the suspects are women whom the victim invited to his room.” A 17-year-old girl was reportedly also in the room, but has not been charged.

According to Caribbean Business PR, this is how it went down:

“‘It was at his invitation that they gained access to the room,’ said Capt. Samuel Luciano, director of the Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Corps in Carolina.

‘Then they apparently called the other individuals over to stage the robbery,’ Luciano said.

According to published reports, the women tied Anello to a chair with lamp cords and a necktie at knifepoint and then let two male suspects into the room. The men then allegedly broke into the hotel room safe and swiped $800 cash, two cellular phones and four credit cards.

A third man allegedly waited outside the hotel in the getaway car. A hotel employee provided a good description of the vehicle and police nabbed the suspects a short time later.”

Anello seems to be okay; he declined medical attention, but as you might guess, it’s rough press for the Ritz-Carlton. As with hotels anywhere, they get their share of pool-crashers and other unwanted visitors — it’s to their credit that they were able to identify the criminals and help set justice in motion so quickly.

“The safety and security of our guests is our most important priority and we take very seriously the appropriate measures to protect the safety and security of our guests,” says Verona Carter, a rep for Ritz-Carlton’s Caribbean & Mexico resorts. They can’t really help it when guests make poor decisions (like inviting shady teenage girls to their rooms).

All five suspects, Alejandra Alicea Candelario, 18, Emanuel Alicea Candelario, 21, Julio Alicea Candelario, 24, Francheska Agosto Ríos, 21 and Luis Agosto Ríos, 25, have been jailed, and a preliminary hearing is set for November 30.

[via Huffington Post]