Copperhead nest in the ball pit

[Pythagorean]

WARNING: This is disturbing, but very relevant information.

This isn't a cited article, it showed up as a myspace bulletin, but it's concievable, so I thought as a reciever of the information, it was my duty to pass it on:

Note: this isn't about the health of fast food, this is much more disturbing; if you're a parent, please read it:

MDonalds, Chuck E Cheese, Discovery Zone... Some of you might not be parents, but you may have nieces, nephews, grandchildren or friends with children. This will pertain to you too. As I read the following, my heart sank. I urge each and every one of you to pass this on to as many people as you can. I cannot stress how important this is!

This is very disturbing news. In addition to the following true story, I will also add that my own sons were playing in the ball pit at Chuckee Cheese one day.

One son lost his watch, and was very upset. We dug and dug in those balls, trying to find the watch.

Instead, we found vomit, food, feces, and other stuff I do not want to discuss. I went to the manager and raised hell. Come to find out, the ball pit is only cleaned out once a month. I have doubts that it is even done that often. My kids will never play in another ball pit. Now read this:

PRETTY SCARY!

Hi. My name is Lauren Archer, my son Kevin and I lived in Midland,TN. On October 2nd, 1999 I took my only son to McDonald's for his 3rd birthday.

After he finished lunch, I allowed him to play in the ball pit. When he started whining later on, I asked him what was wrong, he pointed to the back of his pull-up and simply said "Mommy, it hurts." I couldn't find anything wrong with him at that time. I bathed him when we got home, and it was at that point when I found a welt on his left buttock. Upon investigating, it seemed as if there was something like a splinter under the welt. I made an appointment to see the doctor the next day, but soon
he started vomiting and shaking, then his eyes rolled back intohis
head.

From there, we went to the emergency room. He died later that night. It turned out that the welt on his buttock was the tip of a hypodermic needle that had broken off inside. The autopsy revealed that Kevin had died from a heroine overdose. The next week, the police removed the balls from the ball pit. There was rotten food, several hypodermic needles: some full, some used; knives, half-eaten candy, diapers, feces, and the stench of urine.

If a child is not safe in a child's play area then where? You can find the article on Kevin Archer in the October 10,1999 issue of the Midland Chronicle.

Please forward this to all loving mothers, fathers and anyone who loves and cares for children!

Don't think it's just McDonald's either or that this is something that just started. When my oldest son who is now 9 was small the area Burger King closed their play area for awhile for "remodeling" because in another town there had been an incident similar to the one described above that happen @ a Burger King.

A little boy had been playing in a ball pit & started complaining of his legs hurting. He later died too. He was found to have snake bites all over his legs & buttocks. When they cleaned the ball pit they found that there was a copperhead nest in the ball pit. He had suffered numerous bites from a very poisonous snake. I wouldn't let my son play in the ball pit after that. I was lucky even though that wasn't at our Burger King or McDonald's it could have been.

I still have my son. Please send this on so that it doesn't happen to someone you know.

 

[Pythagorean]

my bad...

Chalk this one up as yet another cautionary tale warning parents to not place their faith in the presumed safety of a child's surroundings.

Though the tragedy described in "Lauren Archer's" e-mail is fictional, the danger of a tot coming into contact with a discarded syringe in one of those play nests is surprisingly real. Ball pit play areas aren't always kept in the best condition. Before letting your child loose in one, make sure the play area's maintenance staff spot cleans the pit once a day and washes all the balls every week. Diapers come off in ball pits, and half-eaten candy is routinely found in there. More disturbingly, syringes and knives have turned up in ball pits.

from http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/archer.asp

an urban legends page.

 

[Astronuc]

Seems like an urban legend, but I suppose it's possible. Sanitation depends on the integrity of the people who are responsible for managing and maintaining such facilities.

The story about the copperheads in the play area is plausible. My mother (a nurse) once mentioned a story of one child who died after being bitten by 'worms' he had been collecting. The 'worms' turned out to be baby copperheads. At the time the child was bitten, it was not clear that he had been bitten because the bites were so small.

I was bitten a few years ago by something, very likely a copperhead, when I was working in a compost pile, which I had build on wood pallets. After feeling a stabbing pain in my hand, I dropped a big chunk of compost, and found two puncture wounds at the base of two fingers. The pain subsided about the time my hand and wrist began to swell and started going numb, except for the pain radiating up my forearm. I slowly went inside the house, cleaned the wound and treated it. I also took anti-inflammatory medication. The swelling went down and the pain dissipated over the next 8-12 hrs. I was fine the next day.

 

[Cyrus]

Does that mean I can go back into the ball pit now?

 

[Evo]

I was bitten a few years ago by something, very likely a copperhead, when I was working in a compost pile, which I had build on wood pallets. After feeling a stabbing pain in my hand, I dropped a big chunk of compost, and found two puncture wounds at the base of two fingers. The pain subsided about the time my hand and wrist began to swell and started going numb, except for the pain radiating up my forearm. I slowly went inside the house, cleaned the wound and treated it. I also took anti-inflammatory medication. The swelling went down and the pain dissipated over the next 8-12 hrs. I was fine the next day.

I would have put a tourniquet on my arm and gone to the neareast emergency room. Snakes freak me out. I've mentioned here about the time when I was 4-5 that a neighbor came running at me with a shovel and barely missed me by a couple of inches. The edge of the shovel slammed into the ground right next to my bare foot. I ran inside the house telling my mother the neighbor had just tried to kill me.

Turned out he'd seen a snake approaching me and had the sense not to alert me for fear that I would startle the snake into striking. It was a 5 foot long water moccasin (cotton mouth).

 

[Pythagorean]

Seems like an urban legend, but I suppose it's possible. Sanitation depends on the integrity of the people who are responsible for managing and maintaining such facilities.

The story about the copperheads in the play area is plausible. My mother (a nurse) once mentioned a story of one child who died after being bitten by 'worms' he had been collecting. The 'worms' turned out to be baby copperheads. At the time the child was bitten, it was not clear that he had been bitten because the bites were so small.

It may be an unfound bias, but I don't expect much integrity out of the McDonald's crew (namely because they're working at McDonald's I guess). I made the mistake of doing the research after I posted that (rather than before), but I still wouldn't let my kids (if I had them) play in a public ball pen. I wouldn't trust the sanitation, regardless of the immediate safety.

I was bitten a few years ago by something, very likely a copperhead, when I was working in a compost pile, which I had build on wood pallets. After feeling a stabbing pain in my hand, I dropped a big chunk of compost, and found two puncture wounds at the base of two fingers. The pain subsided about the time my hand and wrist began to swell and started going numb, except for the pain radiating up my forearm. I slowly went inside the house, cleaned the wound and treated it. I also took anti-inflammatory medication. The swelling went down and the pain dissipated over the next 8-12 hrs. I was fine the next day

This is why I live in Alaska. I'm a big pussycat when it comes to things that are smaller than me and can kill/seriously injur me. The Bears just seem so cuddly.

 

[Pythagorean]

Does that mean I can go back into the ball pit now?

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[Cyrus]

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:rofl: Damnnnnnnnnnnnnn

That's why I'm a big kid, so I can push them out of my way and get to the ball pit first. Just because there smaller doesn't mean I have pitty for them.

 

[Pythagorean]

:rofl: Damnnnnnnnnnnnnn

That's why I'm a big kid, so I can push them out of my way and get to the ball pit first. Just because there smaller doesn't mean I have pitty for them.

So you're a poison taster for the ball pit then? :P

 

[Moonbear]

I wouldn't really expect them to be so bad as the urban legend claims, but those public ball pits seem likely to be full of plenty of germs. Afterall, even if someone is cleaning them out once a day or once a week, small kids will still get in and suck or drool on everything, and fingers that were only moments ago stuck up their nose will then be playing with the balls...or is that baseball players? :uhh: Anyway, I'd certainly avoid those things during cold and flu season if not any other time.

 

[chroot]

Better yet, avoid the entire problem (plus many more) by simply not taking your children to crap-shacks like McDonalds and Burger King in the first place.

- Warren

 

[Moonbear]

Better yet, avoid the entire problem (plus many more) by simply not taking your children to crap-shacks like McDonalds and Burger King in the first place.

- Warren

Going for the occassional "treat" or kid's party (much better than dealing with the disaster such things leave behind in your own home), or stopping for lunch while traveling isn't horrible for kids. That's how I was raised. Making it a regular part of their diet, on the other hand, is where the problem comes in.

 

[Evo]

Gak, I just had visons of those nasty kids whose parents let them run around with green snot running into their mouths. They're rubbing green snot on all the balls! Thank god these pits had just started becomming popular after my kids had outgrown that stage.

This could be a new business venture. I could start a franchise of "sanitary ballpits". Each child has to don a hazmat suit prior to entering the ballpit.

 

[Moonbear]

This could be a new business venture. I could start a franchise of "sanitary ballpits". Each child has to don a hazmat suit prior to entering the ballpit.

:rofl: Might work better with the moonwalk bouncer things...dress up in a "spacesuit" to go in. Where can you get hazmat suits for children? I think when I have kids, this will be required!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I would have put a tourniquet on my arm and gone to the neareast emergency room.

Tourniquets along with most of what I first learned are now out of favor.

... Many health-care professionals embrace just a few basic first-aid techniques. According to the American Red Cross, these steps should be taken:

Wash the bite with soap and water.
Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
Get medical help

...How NOT to Treat a Snakebite
Though US medical professionals may not agree on every aspect of what to do for snakebite first aid, they are nearly unanimous in their views of what not to do. Among their recommendations:

No ice or any other type of cooling on the bite. Research has shown this to be potentially harmful.

No tourniquets. This cuts blood flow completely and may result in loss of the affected limb.

No electric shock. This method is under study and has yet to be proven effective. It could harm the victim.

No incisions in the wound. Such measures have not been proven useful and may cause further injury...

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/995_snakes.html

 

[Chi Meson]

My children will never go to a McCrap until they can drive up themselves.

On a different note: Snopes.com what a great site! I send emails back to people linking the Snopes page that skewars their forwarded alarmist stories.

 

[Moonbear]

On a different note: Snopes.com what a great site! I send emails back to people linking the Snopes page that skewars their forwarded alarmist stories.

I found that was a VERY effective way to get a few persistent acquaintances to stop forwarding those things to me.

 

[Evo]

Tourniquets along with most of what I first learned are now out of favor.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/995_snakes.html

I've known they've been discouraging tourniquets for years, the whole point of the tourniquet is to block the venom from entering the bloodstream and is to be placed between the bite and the heart, but people have been known to place the tourniquet outside of this (Darwin Award). Not to mention not knowing that you can't leave a tourniquet on for more than a very short period of time without damage.

I'm not stupid and the emergency room of the closest hospital is 5 minutes from my house. I could safely do a tourniquet.

 

[Evo]

:rofl: Might work better with the moonwalk bouncer things...dress up in a "spacesuit" to go in. Where can you get hazmat suits for children? I think when I have kids, this will be required!

Disposable hazmat suits.

http://www.wfrfire.com/website/front/index.htm?/website/hazmat/hazmat/suit.htm&front

 

[Mk]

Haha, I remember those urban legends from years ago—another thing that gets passed around because it is scary.

Proof? I don't think there has been any whatsoever, but I don't know. I've been to the bottom of several 'ball pits' and found no feces or vomit. Wouldn't the whole place stink to high heaven if there was crap at the bottom of the ball pit?

What kind of guy that has extra heroin lying around would not be using it for himself?

 

[Evo]

What kind of guy that has extra heroin lying around would not be using it for himself?

That's what a friend of mine said. Plus, a hypodermic injection of heroine would not have taken that long to get serious if it was a lethal dose.

 

[Pythagorean]

I'm not stupid and the emergency room of the closest hospital is 5 minutes from my house. I could safely do a tourniquet.

I learned how to use a turnaquet in boy scouts about 9 years ago. They were very careful to express to a whole bunch of teenage boys the right way to do it and then told us not to ever do it (knowing that we would if we really had to).

DISCLAIMER: In Alaska, Boy Scouts is hard core (and not xxx, you filthy perverts).

 

[J77]

I wouldn't let kids go in a ball pit, sand pit or a playground paddling pool.

At night, this would be a typical place for kids to get pissed - sometimes lugging their bottles so they small in the distance. Our shagging and disgarding the glove :tongue:

I don't think this would be about being over protective - if these places are left outside, ****'s bound to happen.

It's a bit like not eating the peanuts left on the bar

 

[Mental Gridlock]

...Plus, a hypodermic injection of heroine would not have taken that long to get serious if it was a lethal dose.

Good point... Heroin needs to be actually pumped in via the syringe so I don't know how you could overdose on heroine simply stuck by a needle. Those kids can use the craziest secret places to shoot up and the parents are none the wiser. They should have said the needle was HIV infected like those ones the pranksters have been putting into gasoline dispenser handles because that is at least plausible.

Having worked at McDonalds I will tell you that washing our balls isn't exactly on the routine agenda. We undertook the task once the whole time I was working there (a long time) and it was at least 20 garbage bags or so worth of balls.. Then we brought them through the kitchen and washed them in the sinks where you pull the hoze down from above to wash stuff.. Not a whole lot of feces (the kids tend to poop on the Playplace floor instead) or anything anyway.

 

[Evo]

Having worked at McDonalds I will tell you that washing our balls isn't exactly on the routine agenda.

 

[Mental Gridlock]

That's what a friend of mine said. Plus, a hypodermic injection of heroine would not have taken that long to get serious if it was a lethal dose.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Good point... Heroin needs to be actually pumped in via the syringe so I don't know how you could overdose on heroine simply stuck by a needle. Those kids can use the craziest secret places to shoot up and the parents are none the wiser. They should have said the needle was HIV infected like those ones the pranksters have been putting into gasoline dispenser handles.

Having worked at McDonalds I will tell you that washing our balls isn't exactly on the routine agenda. We undertook the task once the whole time I was working there (a long time) and it was at least 20 garbage bags or so worth of balls.. Then we brought them through the kitchen and washed them in the sinks where you pull the hoze down from above to wash stuff.. Not a whole lot of feces (the kids tend to poop on the Playplace floor instead) but a long daunting tiring process that took forever nonetheless.

 

[gagurl]

I received this disturbing message on myspace. I researched the topic and this is what I found on a websight called break the chain.



"You won't find an article about Kevin Archer in the October 10, 1999 issue of the Midland Chronicle. In fact, you won't find a Midland Chronicle - The paper doesn't exist. The title is a combination of the Houston Chronicle and the Midland Reporter-Telegram, both of which have been falsely credited with this story. Further, there have been no reports of a child by that name (or any other) dying in any McDonalds restaurant in Midland, TN; Sugarland, TX; or any of the other towns different versions of this letter place him in. McDonalds firmly denies the allegations - There have also been no reports of snakes or any other such risks in fast-food restaurant play areas.





Urban legends like the one about Kevin Archer often describe believable and plausible scenarios. They describe them as events that actually happened to give them more clout and urgency. A story about a child who died from a ball bit injury is far more compelling than a generic warning that alleges the dangers of the play areas. Nothing is worse than a deadly danger lurking behind a symbol of happiness and joy, thus this legend appeals on very fundamental levels.

However, labeling this one a legend isn't the same as saying that fast food ball pits are the cleanest and safest places in the world - afterall, they are designed for and used by children, who aren't exactly the cleanest or most conscientious folks on the planet. But even adults can be careless (even malicious) and use the play areas as a trash can, a hiding spot for incriminating items, emergency restrooms and other undesirable uses. Some of the children who use them aren't always the cleanest creatures on the planet either.

Most businesses with the play areas spot clean them daily, with a more thorough cleaning at least once a week. If you're concerned about your kids' safety, ask the management at your favorite place about their cleaning schedule and take a moment to check it for yourself before letting the kids in. If it doesn't look safe, report it to management. Break this Chain!"

 

[hypatia]

By far the worse thing I see that parents do to there little kids...put them in shopping carts. Not only are they filthy, but I saw a child fall out of one, right on his head. He had managed to undo a safty belt, and stand up and fall with in 60 seconds.

 

[scorpa]

Having worked at McDonalds I will tell you that washing our balls isn't exactly on the routine agenda. .

Haha that just sounds wrong.

 

[Mk]

I saw a child fall out of one, right on his head. He had managed to undo a safty belt, and stand up and fall with in 60 seconds.

I can beat that time!