Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Magnoliacom
Newsvine
Furl
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Technorati
IcerocketBunk Beds Declared Dangerous!
Broken toes, bloody noses and ceiling fan entanglement are the stuff of nightmares for all ages, report concludes
Posted 06.04.2008 at 10:55 am
5 Comments
Bed Bunks: Fall from grace?
MediaSource
Clamber down a bunk bed ladder in the black of night at your own risk, says a large new study of the double-decker berths: falls, head entrapment, strangulation, and even ceiling fan entanglement may await.
Most of the nearly 36,000 cases of bunk-bed injury reported per year were found to involve scrapes, bruises, and fractures, including the notorious “bunk-bed fracture”—an impaction of the bone behind the big toe commonly induced by cowabunga leaps. Small children get walloped most often in the head and neck, reports the study, as they “tend to fall head first because of a higher center of gravity.”
Yet no child is too old to be spared. The researchers learned that injuries actually spike among 18-to-21-year-olds, presumably because they are more frequently relegated to bunking in a college dorm or military barrack.
The authors, who conducted the study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, recommend the use of guard rails and night lights and discourage kids from employing the bunk as a jungle gym.
The report appears in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics—yet another example of how obvious science can help us sleep at night.
5 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
Current theme: Seasonal Science
Our latest winner
Featured
SciTech
In Defense of the LHC
As the Large Hadron Collider readies to be fired up in Geneva, Physicist Brian Cox explains what it might reveal about the workings of the Universe—and why the grandest scientific instrument ever built is well worth the $6 billion investment
A Geek's Guide to Colleges
Where to go if you want to clone mules, hunt aliens, or just build a better videogame
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
SciTech
- I Want That On My Desk By Two Million Years Ago
- A Million Plastic Balls to Halt Carcinogens
- Video: Why Artificial Intelligence Threatens Actual Intelligence
- A Little Off the Top, S'Il Vous Plait
- Killer Peppers
- The Five Diseases You Should Worry About
- And the Ig Nobel Goes To . . .
- More Bad News About Plastics
- Wriggling Away From Cancer
- And the Ig Nobel Goes to . . .
Most Commented
SciTech
- Does Science Obviate Religion?
- A Little Off the Top, S'Il Vous Plait
- Video: Why Artificial Intelligence Threatens Actual Intelligence
- A Million Plastic Balls to Halt Carcinogens
- Bad Market? Blame Men
- Rent a Robotic Suit Named HAL
- Human Evolution is Coming to a Standstill
- Let the Record Speak: McCain and Obama on Climate Change
- When Is Carbon an Electrical Conductor?
- I've Heard That The Earth's Rotation Is Slowing. How Long Until Days Last 25 Hours?
Most Emailed
SciTech
- An Issue of National Security: Obama and McCain on DARPA
- Wriggling Away From Cancer
- Human Evolution is Coming to a Standstill
- One in Four Mammals May Soon Be Extinct
- Killer Peppers
- Curing Disease or Playing God: Obama and McCain on Genetics Research
- This Week In Sex
- Preventing an Outbreak: McCain and Obama on Pandemics
- Watch Your Wallet: Phishers on the Prowl
- Making Skin for Robots
Subscribe for 2 free issues!
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2008 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments
Yes indeed play at your own risk on these buggers and as the good doctor once said "no more monkeys jumping on the bed".
~Taio~
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulYes indeed play at your own risk on these buggers and as the good doctor once said "no more monkeys jumping on the bed".
~Taio~
1 out of 1 people found this comment helpfulZerin Sakech says
Yeah! these beds are killer! I slept on a bunk and have been hurt many times. Mainly because I'm accident prone, but still, so is most of the human population. These beds were desinged from army cots and for budget costs. Those of us who can afford to buy real beds then lets skip the bunks, unless you like to pay hospital bills. Masocista!!!!
1 out of 2 people found this comment helpfulUmm, my brother and I grew up sleeping in bunk beds for about 14 years and were never hurt once, same with my two sisters. Just don't act like a retard on the bed, simple as that.
Most people these days seem to let their kids act like jackasses, that's probably the whole reason behind the kids getting hurt. Hell it's probably 90% of the reason any kid gets hurt.
Just make them settle down and obey the rules of the house, simple.
2 out of 2 people found this comment helpfulIf you are reading this, you have been BURNINATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0 out of 0 people found this comment helpfulI have fallen out of my bunk bed and landed on my head and I'm hear to tell ya it's not life threatening. It hurt alot so it's still not a good idea.