Re: Terrified Parents

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net> 

Watch out on those statistics...
You're citing overall rates, but what you need is data on exposure.  Yes,
there were several hundred deaths due to electrocution from consumer
electronics, but there were also hundreds of millions of exposures, so the
rate per exposure is quite low (probably in the 1 in a million area, just
like being hit by lightning).

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of tesla coils.  There have been
deaths due to tesla coils, and, because the total number of people doing it
is probably in the tens of thousands, considered in bulk, tesla coiling is
probably 100 times more dangerous (on a people exposed per year basis) than
using consumer electronics.

Gosh, something like 15 people a year used die from electrocution from using
a hairdryer in the shower (special kind of stupid there!), which is partly
why they all have GFCIs built into the cord now.

I would mention chainsaws... (don't tell parents about this, though...
chainsaws are scary and emotional). They're a useful tool, but potentially
quite dangerous (lots of energy, whirling blades of maiming and death, etc.)
My in-laws live in a rural area, and when fall comes, the local emergency
room dreads it, because they KNOW that they're going to be getting a lot of
chainsaw injuries.  Not from the professionals who use chainsaws every day,
but from the guy who fires up the saw once a year.

The point of the latter is that not only do you have a "# of people exposed
to the hazard issue" (consumer electronics) but you also have a frequency of
exposure issue (hairdryer every day vs chainsaw once or twice a year), so
you can't just look at number of units sold/in service for statistics.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2003 6:09 AM
Subject: Re: Terrified Parents


 > Original poster: dgoodfellow-at-highstream-dot-net
 >
 > Snips:
 > <Your 12/30 NST can
 > deliver a nasty, painful shock, but it is highly
 > unlikely that it will kill you or do you permanent
 > harm. The power tools we use to fabricate Tesla coils
 > are far more dangerous than the completed Tesla coils!
 >
 > Speaking of power tools, does your mom freak and
 > stress when you mow the lawn? I have no stats handy,
 > but I am confident that many teens are killed or
 > injured every year by lawn mowers.>
 >
 > There's plenty of information available at the CPSC.
 >      In 1998 electrocution from consumer electronics was down to 550
 > deaths. In 1988 there were 710 deaths from consumer electronics!
 >
 > Also, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission:
 > 255,000 toy related injuries treated in U.S. Hospital emergency rooms each
 > year.
 >
 > 8,700 fires, 990 injuries, and 80 deaths as a result from using candles in
 > the home per year.
 >
 > Over 90,000 injuries in 1999 from children using trampolines.
 >
 > Annual average of 21,000 children treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms
 > from shopping cart injuries.
 >
 > All figures available at
 >
<http://www.cpsc.gov/library/data.html>http://www.cpsc.gov/library/data.html
 >
 > So... statistically, Tesla coils have a better safety record than consumer
 > electronics, trampolines, and candles.
 >
 > <In fact, every job, hobby, sport, activity, or just
 > about anything worth doing carries a certain amount of
 > risk. Tesla coiling occupies a pretty low spot on the
 > risk scale, way below skateboarding, woodworking,
 > cycling, swimming, football, or even driving a car.>
 >
 > Absolutely!!
 >
 > DG
 >
 >