Searching for Missing Fingers: A Cautionary Tale

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the topic of accidents involving missing fingers, particularly in relation to dangerous machinery like lobe pumps. Participants share personal experiences, humorous observations, and concerns about safety practices in industrial settings. The conversation also touches on food safety and allowable limits of foreign materials in food products.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration about the recurring need to search for missing fingers after accidents involving machinery, noting the lack of caution from individuals around dangerous equipment.
  • Another participant humorously comments on the relative severity of losing a finger compared to other body parts.
  • There are inquiries about the type of machinery involved, specifically a lobe pump, and the dangers associated with it, including individuals attempting to check its operation by inserting their fingers.
  • Participants discuss the surprising lack of blood in severe finger injuries, with one explaining the physiological response of vasoconstriction and the limited arterial supply in fingers.
  • Humor is interjected with references to food products and allowable limits of foreign materials, including insect parts and other contaminants, leading to a broader discussion about food safety standards.
  • One participant shares a personal anecdote about a severe finger injury that did not result in much bleeding, aligning with the physiological explanations provided earlier.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of humor and concern regarding the topic, with no clear consensus on the safety practices around machinery or the implications of food safety standards. The discussion remains open-ended with various viewpoints presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference physiological responses to injuries and food safety regulations, but these points are not universally agreed upon and depend on individual experiences and interpretations.

wolram
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One job i hate is looking for missing fingers, this is the third time, normally we try to find the missing bit in case it can be sewn back on, no luck this time i think the pump chewed it to nothing, it is crazy how people want to stick their fingers in dangerous equipment despite the numerous waning signs.
 
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Not fun at all. Though, considering every time I usually hear Brits refer to "bits" it's a very different part of the anatomy, I suppose a finger isn't the WORST part to lose. :rolleyes:
 
wolram said:
One job i hate is looking for missing fingers, this is the third time, normally we try to find the missing bit in case it can be sewn back on, no luck this time i think the pump chewed it to nothing, it is crazy how people want to stick their fingers in dangerous equipment despite the numerous waning signs.

Wow. What type of machine?...if you don't mind sharing.
 
Um, hold on a minute. Is there an allowable amount of fingers in snack cakes? :rolleyes:
 
Moonie, if you like Fig Newtons, don't even consider looking at the allowable % of insect parts in fig products. Just pretend it's really low and it's a microscopic protein enhancement.
 
turbo-1 said:
Moonie, if you like Fig Newtons, don't even consider looking at the allowable % of insect parts in fig products. Just pretend it's really low and it's a microscopic protein enhancement.

I know about insect parts, which is why I was wondering if there were allowable limits of fingers. It seems they have allowable limits of everything.
 
Moonbear said:
I know about insect parts, which is why I was wondering if there were allowable limits of fingers. It seems they have allowable limits of everything.
Oh, yeah! There are allowable % of rat feces and every other damned thing. One of the common things to find in string beans in school lunches when I was a kid is grasshoppers in green beans. For some reason, Green Giant and others managed to sort those out, but the cut-rate outfits supplying the school lunch program didn't bother. When a kid hauled a 'hopper out of his lunch, some kids would ditch the beans. I'd just keep eating them, and keep a closer eye out for hoppers. I had canned vegetables with my mother from a young age, and I knew that sterilization (not by that name) was my friend.
 
Holocene said:
Wow. What type of machine?...if you don't mind sharing.

It was a lobe pump, people seem to want to disconnect the pipes and stick their fingers inside to find out if it is working, luckily they can only get so far and they just loose an inch or so.

Strange thing is there is never much blood, i imagined it would pour from such a wound.

Moonb, a pump is sure not the place to put ones wedding tackle.
 
HINT: Ladyfingers, finger sandwiches. :rolleyes:
 
  • #10
wolram said:
It was a lobe pump, people seem to want to disconnect the pipes and stick their fingers inside to find out if it is working, luckily they can only get so far and they just loose an inch or so.

Strange thing is there is never much blood, i imagined it would pour from such a wound.

Moonb, a pump is sure not the place to put ones wedding tackle.
Woah! Lobe pumps are high torque rascals capable of pumping some high-density materials (including bits) against some very high heads. I imagine that today some sweet-addicts are enjoying their fondant-dressed pasties with "parts". Parts is parts.
 
  • #11
wolram said:
Strange thing is there is never much blood, i imagined it would pour from such a wound.
With a wound that severe, usually there's first vasoconstriction from the damage, so not much bleeding, then a little while later (not usually that long), the faucet turns on. Though, the fingers only have a couple small arteries off on each side, so you can compress it reasonably well to stop any bleeding.

Moonb, a pump is sure not the place to put ones wedding tackle.
:biggrin: Wedding tackle, I like that term. Sounds like you're out fishing, which might be a good term. :smile:

Evo said:
HINT: Ladyfingers, finger sandwiches. :rolleyes:

:smile: :rolleyes:
 
  • #12
Wow, interesting topic...
 
  • #13
Look on the bright side Wolram. At least it's not your fingers you're looking for!
 
  • #14
turbo-1 said:
Oh, yeah! There are allowable % of rat feces and every other damned thing. One of the common things to find in string beans in school lunches when I was a kid is grasshoppers in green beans. For some reason, Green Giant and others managed to sort those out, but the cut-rate outfits supplying the school lunch program didn't bother. When a kid hauled a 'hopper out of his lunch, some kids would ditch the beans. I'd just keep eating them, and keep a closer eye out for hoppers. I had canned vegetables with my mother from a young age, and I knew that sterilization (not by that name) was my friend.

I don't know if it'll sound strange or not, but I think I'd rather find a whole grasshopper than grasshopper parts. I mean, it's relatively easy to pick up a whole grasshopper and remove it to avoid eating it, but some finely ground, stray grasshopper parts, you'd never even know they were there.
 
  • #15
None of my body parts has gone missing except for my tonsils and appendix which got swiped. When I was 20, I did rip open a finger with the tip dangling off the first joint. still connected by meat, skin, nerves and such. The surgeon snapped it back on and sewed it up. It didn't bleed much.
 
  • #16
Moonbear said:
With a wound that severe, usually there's first vasoconstriction from the damage, so not much bleeding, then a little while later (not usually that long), the faucet turns on. Though, the fingers only have a couple small arteries off on each side, so you can compress it reasonably well to stop any bleeding.

So delayed blood explosions are real?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TPN0e7Bsw&feature=related

Awesome game, by the way.
 
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