PopularMechanics082017

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

A

s a kid, I was afraid that I’d die in one of

three ways: car crash, werewolf attack or

accidental stabbing. The first is justified,

the second, probably not, but it was the third

for which people mocked me. When I saw a

knife, I always thought, “That could go into my

stomach and kill me.” Even now, when my wife

twirls around kitchen knives and I keep a wide

berth, she says, “Why are you so afraid?”

Ordinary people get stabbed accidentally all

the time. In 2014, an Oklahoma man fell out of

a hammock while whittling and stabbed his

beloved four-year-old nephew. In 2010, an

Alabama woman accidentally stabbed and

killed her brother while she was doing dishes.

As a man who lives in permanent knife-terror,

I will never whittle for fun, so getting stabbed in

the hammock probably won’t happen. But I do

the dishes every day. So I just want to say to my

wife, the steak-knife cavalier: be mindful, and

always hand me the knife handle first while I’m

emptying and loading the dishwasher. That way,

I can safely assume I’ll survive another day.

Assuming there’s not a full moon. – Neal Pollack

ACCIDENTAL

STABBING

Any knife could end up being

the one that kills you.

impact without the victim

hitting the hard engine.

3. Pop-up bonnets: Some
   companies are adding active
   bonnets. When the car detects
   a collision with a pedestrian,
   the front bonnet angle in-
   creases, so it’s raised in the
   rear to soften the landing.


4. External airbags: Some
   Volvos come standard with ex-
   ternal airbags and Subaru has
   developed a similar system.
   When Volvo V40s detect a
   collision with a pedestrian, they
   deploy airbags from the front
   bumper and the gap where the
   hood meets the windscreen.

IMPROVING.

LAKE PARASITES

Swimming in lakes can get

you a brain-eating amoeba.

There is an amoeba that can

live in warm freshwater. It’s

called Naegleria fowleri, it is

indeed dangerous, and it exists

in the United States (typically

in the south). After entering

through the nose, it can cause

an infection that destroys brain

tissue and results in death in

more than 97 per cent of cases.

But it’s also extraordinarily

rare: The CDC reported only

37 Naegleria fowleri infections

in the United States between

2006 and 2015.

SO MUCH LESS THAN THAT

OF THE ROPE SWING.

SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN

WITH A CUT

Your blood will attract sharks.

An average of 82 unprovoked

shark attacks occur worldwide

each year, and only 7 to 9 per

cent of those attacks are fatal.

Sharks are attuned to all kinds

of bodily fluids, says George

Burgess, director of the pro-

gramme for shark research

at the Florida Museum of

Natural History. But detection

doesn’t necessarily lead to

pursuit. There are, as they say

• especially if “they” are well-
  meaning aunts and you’ve
  been recently dumped – many
  fish in the sea. Plus, there’s
  nothing particularly attractive
  about human blood. If you’ve
  got just a small scratch, there’s
  not much cause for alarm. If
  you’re streaming blood, how-
  ever, it’s probably best to get
  out of the water.

MUCH LOWER AFTER YOU GET THAT

BLOOD-STREAMING CUT CHECKED OUT.

GETTING SHOT

Bullets do irreparable

damage to your insides.

If a major organ or blood vessel

is hit, you better hope your will

driver safety, manufacturers

are focused on making colli-

sions with pedestrians less

lethal. New safety features

include rounded edges, sloping

bonnets, a lack of bonnet

ornaments, and the following.

1. Detection systems:
   Front-facing cameras, typically
   equipped with night vision,
   and radars are getting good at
   identifying humans on foot
   or skateboards, or bicycles.
   If a collision seems imminent,
   flashes alert the driver or the
   car automatically brakes.


2. Engine gaps: New cars
   have at least two centimetres
   of space between the engine
   and the bonnet so that the
   metal can flex, absorbing

RAW OYSTERS

Oysters caught in the summer months are exposed to more heat

on the boat and develop bacteria.

Although raw oysters can contain vibrio – a bacteria that causes

500 hospitalisations and 100 deaths per year, according to the CDC

• especially after the water in them warms up, your getting it is not
  very likely. Industry standards require that oysters be put on ice
  within minutes of being caught. Even in the summer.
  ODDS OF DEATH: NOT WORTH CONSIDERING.