PSA: Dust-Off and other "innocuous" household products can kill kids

[j]

For the parents/uncles/etc. out there: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp (not a myth) The short version: kids take compressed air meant for blowing dust out of computers, inhale it for fun to get dizzy, and can die. Diflouruethane propellant in "canned air" fills up their lungs and displaces oxygen. People can die in a few seconds from this when their brain has no oxygen to run on. This is exactly the kind of thing that bored, affluent middle-class kids will do for fun. So tell your kids to stick to the whipped cream. (Just kidding.) (But it is a fair bit safer.) Check your kids for any of the following drug signs:

• Clothing or bags etc. made of black/red/yellow/green knit fabric (esp. big baggy round hats)
• Hacky-sacks
• Sudden interest in Pink Floyd or crappy electronica

 

[kwilkinson]

Oh yes, Whip-its are definitely the better option here.

 

[sonick]

So it's like Cheesing?

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by j

For the parents/uncles/etc. out there:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp (not a myth)

The short version: kids take compressed air meant for blowing dust out of computers, inhale it for fun to get dizzy, and can die. Diflouruethane propellant in "canned air" fills up their lungs and displaces oxygen. People can die in a few seconds from this when their brain has no oxygen to run on.

This is exactly the kind of thing that bored, affluent middle-class kids will do for fun. So tell your kids to stick to the whipped cream. (Just kidding.) (But it is a fair bit safer.)

Check your kids for any of the following drug signs:

• Clothing or bags etc. made of black/red/yellow/green knit fabric (esp. big baggy round hats)
  
• Hacky-sacks
  
• Sudden interest in Pink Floyd or crappy electronica

What's more fun is if you shake the can and spray it at someone upside down, you can give them cryogenic burns.

 

[robin]

I have a can of Dust Off on my desk right now and they have warnings on it against doing it. It also says they've added a bitterant to it, so it will taste like **** if you try it. If you can't be deterred by either of these, then you can't be helped.

 

[j]

Yeah, I may be a bit late on this one. Figured I'd post it anyway though, I have a can of Dust-off that's so old it doesn't have much warning or the bitterant AFAIK.

 

[Go Surface]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Oh yes, Whip-its are definitely the better option here.

Talk about a blast from the past. I haven't seen a whip-it in forever.

 

[nmoraitis]

As a teen, I could never imagine myself smoking let alone doing something like this. Some kids have nothing better to do I guess.

 

[kwilkinson]

^All I can say is that in a town of <1200 people, with the closest mall/restaurant/movie theater/anything entertaining is 30+ miles away, it's a lot more tempting than you'd think.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

^All I can say is that in a town of <1200 people, with the closest mall/restaurant/movie theater/anything entertaining is 30+ miles away, it's a lot more tempting than you'd think.

Did you ******** with farm animals too?

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Did you ******** with farm animals too?

Personally? No. The most I ever did with livestock was go cow-tipping.

But I did know some people who I honestly would question whether they did or not.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

But I did know some people who I honestly would question whether they did or not.
Eh, I think we all do.