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Did you know that they had full dose radiation-driven "shoe fitting" devices in over 10,000 shoe stores up until 1970? They were eventually pulled when reports
by aresant 16y ago
Did you know that they had full dose radiation-driven "shoe fitting" devices in over 10,000 shoe stores up until 1970?
They were eventually pulled when reports of burns and stunting of bone and cartilage began to emerge.
It's the little vignettes of history like this that remind me how many grand-experiments there are out there using us all as the unwitting test subjects.
Is the Pilot Union’s boycott a kneejerk reaction to the measured warning about potential radiation damage?
Maybe.
But never underestimate how quickly politicos helping to equip our airports with $100 - 200k a pop units will happily ask for forgiveness, not permission.
Citation for shoe stores - http://www.hemonctoday.com/article.aspx?rid=28218 http://www.hemonctoday.com/article.aspx?rid=28218
- oiuytgfyhujik 16y agoBut this is different - they have done long term studies following the total life health of 1000s of pilots who have been exposed to these scanners 10x a day for their whole careers.
- Anechoic 16y agoLink/source?
- oiuytgfyhujik 16y agobiblo-ref: Journal of Ironic Internet Postings 1 April 2011
- ramchip 16y agoFor added convenience: @ARTICLE{oiuytgfyhujik:11, author = {{oiuytgfyhujik}}, title = {{on: World's largest association of pilots boycotts body scanners}}, year = {2011}, journal = {{Journal of Ironic Internet Postings}}, note = {\url{http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1885309}} }
- dejb 16y agoThere is an apparently dwindling minority of people who would consider this to be sarcasm and not irony. For these few, irony is never merely logical negation. It necessarily involves unintended and opposite consequences flowing from the protagonist's actions. A short internet search suggests I may be the last of this kind.
- ericb 16y agoAlanis Morisette's "Isn't it Ironic?" was an ironic tragedy for us all.
- dejb 16y agoActually I think 'Unfortunate' would have been the appropriate word in that song. Most of the situations described don't involve any direct negation of the protagonists intentions. The only possible qualifier is 'Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye He waited his whole damn life to take that flight And as the plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice..."' ... but the last line is still sarcasm, not irony.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- ericb 16y ago> Most of the situations described don't involve any direct negation of the protagonists intentions. That was what I was pointing out.
- dejb 16y agoYou are being sarcastic.
- chopsueyar 16y ago
- InclinedPlane 16y agoIt's obviously humor, since backscatter x-ray scanners haven't been invented for as long as a standard pilot's career yet.
- Anechoic 16y agoSorry, this is what too little sleep does to a person.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- BCM43 16y agoFor those confused, I'm pretty sure this is a joke.
- rdtsc 16y agoNo, but they did use mouse pilots in a long term animal study of 3 years (20 years in human pilot equivalent years). Most of the study subjects reported dizziness, headaches and the infamous restless paw syndrome, which made it pretty much impossible for them to continue flying safely.
- mjschultz 16y agoCan you provide a reference for this study please?
- rbanffy 16y agoYou want a reference to a study about mice who fly planes? Seriously?
- rdtsc 16y agoYou know, I debated of spending some time to setup a bogus scientific journal site just for him... Maybe even charge $30 for the full PDF version.
- mjschultz 16y agoHmmm, my coffee must not have kicked in at that point. I skipped right over the "mouse pilots" part and just assumed "mice." It seems entirely plausible that they have exposed mice to backscatter scanners for extended periods and studied the reactions/effects. That study I would be interested in, but it seems rdtsc was making a funny. I understand now.
- gordonguthrie 16y agoYup, because everytime we went down Stockbridge in Edinburgh I would go into the shop to see the bones in my feet. Luckily we lived abroad mostly in oil camps or I would be four legged by now...
- joezydeco 16y agoMy dad worked in a shoe store with one of these devices. Many of his coworkers used to play with the fluoroscopes in their free time (thankfully Dad never did). Years later a good portion of them lost their feet or portions of them because of the radiation burns and various cancers.
- chopsueyar 16y agoThat is horrific.
- imajes 16y agoActually, they ran similar shoe devices in the uk in the 80's and 90's - i know, as i used one. I don't know if they were high-dose fluroscopes though.
- jberryman 16y agoIt's the little vignettes of history like this that remind me how many grand-experiments there are out there using us all as the unwitting test subjects See also: our food.