PopularMechanics082017

44 http://www.popularmechanics.co.za _ AUGUST 2017

One US National Institutes of

Health study of rats found that

high levels of BPA exposure

“during pregnancy and/or

lactation can reduce survival,

birth weight, and growth of

offspring early in life, and

delay the onset of puberty”.

That same study, however,

pointed out that the exposure

necessary to achieve those

results was “far in excess of

the highest estimated daily

intake” of BPA. Although the

country’s Food and Drug

Administration maintains that

the amount of BPA in every-

day plastics is safe, there is

no consensus on the long-

term effects.

USE A REAL PLATE.

SCRATCHED TEFLON PANS

Bits of Teflon will migrate to

your food and poison you.

One of the main chemicals

used to make Teflon, perfluo-

rooctanoic acid (PFOA), can

cause various cancers and

reduce fertility in lab animals.

But the high temperatures

used to make your pans com-

pletely remove PFOA. In fact,

the American Cancer Society

says there are no known risks

to eating food cooked on Tef-

lon pans. What you do need to

worry about is letting the pan

reach too high a heat. The

fluoropolymers in Teflon start

to break down at 260 degrees.

At around 360 degrees, they

release at least six toxic gases,

including two carcinogens.

Breathing the released fumes

can cause respiratory prob-

lems and a flu-like illness.

EAT YOUR EGGS.

YOU’LL BE FINE.

ELECTRICAL OUTLETS

If you put a fork tine or bobby

pin in one of the live termi-

nals, you’ll be electrocuted.

When you stick something

in only one of the terminals,

you’re not completing the cir-

cuit and nothing will happen.

But touch the live terminal

and the neutral, say, or the

live and something grounded,

PIGS

They’re just waiting to attack.

T

his probably goes without saying: I’ll never forget

when that pig bit me in the face. I had been bitten

by a German Shepherd before, so I knew what it felt

like to have animal teeth in me, but the way that

pig tore so firmly into my cheek made a more lasting

impression. I have taken delight in eating bacon since.

“I like pigs,” Sherrie Webb told me when I called not to ask

her whether pigs are killers, but to warn her that they are.

She’s the director of animal welfare for the US National Pork

Board (pork.org) and an obvious pig apologist. “They can be

quite friendly,” she said. You poor doomed woman, I thought.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention keep ex-

haustive statistics about how Americans die. Unfortunately,

the swine clearly got to the CDC, too. Killer pigs fall under

a broad “contact with other mammals” category, which means

they can blame cows for their crimes. There are countless

stories of people being eaten by pigs, including an Oregon

hog farmer whose dentures were all that remained of him.

Police couldn’t determine whether the farmer died from nat-

ural causes and was eaten or was murdered and eaten. I know.

“At least in the domestic herd, pigs aren’t overtly aggressive,”

Webb said. I was about to question her credentials when she

added: “Pigs explore using their nose and mouth. They

might chew on their pen mates, but I’m not sure that’s

blood-motivated.”

She made the case that pigs are like us. When they feel

threatened, they will try to escape, but might also fight back.

Happy pigs make low, contented noises. Alarmed pigs squeal

and that’s when humans should start assessing their own

behaviour and its possible consequences. “Treat pigs well

and with understanding,” Webb said, “and they’re not any

more dangerous than any other mammal.”

I thought back to that pig whose hot breath I can still feel

in my nightmares. I swear I didn’t do anything to earn his

bite. I was only trying to castrate him. – Chris Jones

and you’re in trouble. This is

surprisingly common. In the

USA, the National Fire Protec-

tion Association reports that

5 500 people went to the

emergency room in 2015 with

injuries from electrical outlets.

A ground fault circuit inter-

rupter (GFCI) outlet makes

this harder to do, since GFCIs

monitor the current leaving

the hot terminal and returning

through the ground. If there’s

an imbalance – because some

of the current is leaking into

you – the GFCI shuts the cur-

rent off in as little as a 30th of

a second. GFCIs aren’t fool-

proof, though. If you touch the

live and neutral conductors

at the same time, they won’t

register a discrepancy and

you’ll get zapped.

PAINFUL, NOT FATAL.

DESICCANT PACKETS

The silica gel packs in shipping

containers all say “Do not eat”,

so they must be deadly.

The American Association of

Poison Control Centres docu-

mented 33 705 desiccant ex-

posures in 2010, 89 per cent

of which occurred in children

younger than six. Presumably

none of them died from poi-

soning, since silica is chemi-

cally inert and non-toxic. The

real danger is children choking

on the packets.

SLIM AFTER PUBERTY.

DOCKED BOATS

Boats plugged into power

at a dock or marina could

electrify the water.

This happens, rarely, when

there’s a fault in the grounding

system. If the current moves

to the water, it can freeze a

swimmer’s muscles and lead to

FOOD REHEATED IN

PLASTIC CONTAINERS

Microwaves pull chemicals out

of plastic and into your food.

Bisphenol A (or BPA) is an

additive in hard, clear plastic,

including most takeaway and

food-storage containers. When

you put those things in the

microwave, the heat created

causes BPA to leach into your

food and, thus, into you.