And the winner of the 2006 Darwin Awards is

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Two college students tragically died after crawling inside a large, deflated helium balloon, asphyxiating due to a lack of oxygen. The incident has sparked discussions about safety awareness and the responsibilities of companies providing such attractions. Many participants expressed sorrow for the victims' families while criticizing the students' decision to enter the balloon, suggesting that common sense should have prevailed. The conversation also touched on the need for safety instructions and warnings in similar situations, comparing this incident to other cases where individuals have entered confined spaces filled with inert gases. Some commenters debated the intelligence of today's youth and the effectiveness of safety warnings, while others reflected on the broader implications of such accidents for society. Overall, the discussion highlighted the tragic consequences of a lack of awareness regarding safety in seemingly harmless situations.
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-balloon05.html

LUTZ, Fla. -- Two college students were found dead inside a large, deflated helium balloon after apparently pulling it down and crawling inside it, officials said.

They literally forgot to breathe...
 
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They didn't "forget to breathe", they asphyxiated!
 
Rach3 said:
They didn't "forget to breathe", they asphyxiated!
good, I wasn't the only one wondering WTF pengwuino was talking about
 
Rach3 said:
They didn't "forget to breathe", they asphyxiated!

Fool! That line isn't funny!
 
Then make up something that is.
 
My heart breaks for the parents who have lost a son and daughter. :frown: I doubt they thought about the fact that the baloon was still full of He and that there was no oxygen.

Such accidents have happened in other industries where people enter storage systems or tanks that are full of nitrogen or other inert gas. The company responsible for the balloon should have given safety instructions to the young people.
 
This doesn't deserve darwin's award, it's too normal... :)
 
Both of them were 21...
 
Also know as:
Lack of Intellgence design.
This will help the Evoloution of the human race greatly.
 
  • #10
Astronuc said:
The company responsible for the balloon should have given safety instructions to the young people.
You'd think it would be self-evident not to crawl inside a balloon, period, and especially one filled with helium. Somehow I don't think all the warnings in the world would have helped kids that are truly that stupid...or drunk...or both. You do feel sorry for the other people left behind, though. It's tough to lose someone close anytime, but it always seems more tragic when they are young.
 
  • #11
Astronuc said:
Such accidents have happened in other industries where people enter storage systems or tanks that are full of nitrogen or other inert gas. The company responsible for the balloon should have given safety instructions to the young people.
Confined space permits and training are probably not immediately on most people's minds, but you'd wish that parents would instill a certain amount of common sense in their children. Even without the presence of He, there should have been little alarms going off in their minds before trying to do it.

Then again, it could be foul play...Nah. I watch too much CSI.
 
  • #12
Astronuc said:
My heart breaks for the parents who have lost a son and daughter. :frown: I doubt they thought about the fact that the baloon was still full of He and that there was no oxygen.

Such accidents have happened in other industries where people enter storage systems or tanks that are full of nitrogen or other inert gas. The company responsible for the balloon should have given safety instructions to the young people.
You think the two worked there?

I kind of got the impression they were just a couple of college kids who happened to see the hydrogen balloon outside the store. I guess some kind of warning like the 'anti-theft' device warning on vending machines (the picture of the vending machine falling over on the guy shaking the machine) could have been used, but I doubt the couple read any warnings that may or may not have been on the balloon.
 
  • #13
Well, I just assumed one or the other or both were retrieving the balloon. Perhaps they just decided to get inside and have fun, not realizing that with He inside, there is no oxygen to breath. I wonder how many young people would think of that? Probably very few.
 
  • #14
they were able to breathe helium in Sphere...:rolleyes:
 
  • #15
Astronuc said:
I wonder how many young people would think of that? Probably very few.
Wow, Astro! You set terribly low standards for today's youth!
 
  • #16
i think its terrible that these kids who might not have been ultra smart, made a mistake that cost them their lives and now some dorks on the internet are saying that their death was for the progress of humanity.
 
  • #17
I visited the local high school, which is one of the largest in the state and considered one of the best. I was not impressed. Two or three of the several hundred of students I met expressed capability and motivation.

On the other hand, I did hire the valedictorian a few years ago. He was a brilliant kid who just graduated from Harvard with a degree in mathematics. He turned out to be an excellent programmer. But he still has a lot to learn.
 
  • #18
yomamma said:
they were able to breathe helium in Sphere...:rolleyes:
Helium mix i.e. mixed w/ Oxygen.
 
  • #19
Rach3 said:
They didn't "forget to breathe", they asphyxiated!
still not right. They just forgot what breathe.
 
  • #20
heartless said:
This doesn't deserve darwin's award, it's too normal... :)
No, this definitely qualifies for the Darwin Award. How many people would do this? Aside from these two, I think the count is zero.
 
  • #21
Gokul43201 said:
Wow, Astro! You set terribly low standards for today's youth!

It's hard not to when they can't even spell or speak English properly...
 
  • #22
Tsu said:
It's hard not to when they can't even spell or speak English properly...

Do you hve a problim with how we speak engrish?
 
  • #23
Unless this is an urban legend, didn't a similar thing happen during a NASA tour inside a building or final stage of a Saturn rocket, where the area was filled with nitrogen gas?

True NASA atrocity: didn't anyone realized that pure oxygen at near 20psi would create a highly flammable environment?
 
  • #24
Pure oxygen at any pressure is a fire hazard. Compression heating is one of the leading causes of oxygen mishaps.
 
  • #25
FredGarvin said:
Pure oxygen at any pressure is a fire hazard.
At 5 psi, as used in the Apollo missions, it was relativly safe, but at 20psi during a ground test, it wasn't. At least that is what NASA claims.
 

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