Questions tagged [safety]
The balance of benefit versus harm of an activity, device, technology or substance.
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Was there a Soviet anti-motorcycle-helmet campaign in the late 1950s and early 1960s?
Lessig (1995, pp. 964–965) writes:
Before the 1960s, motorcyclists in Soviet Russia did not wear helmets. In part this was because of a lack of any perceived need to wear helmets; in part it was ...
user17967
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Is online dating unsafe?
Is there any evidence to support the common conception that one is more likely to be physically injured when dating someone met online as opposed to someone met "offline"?
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Is there a huge gas bubble below the Gulf of Mexico floor ready to wreak havok?
I was sent the video HERE a bit back, which gave me pause. It was sent by a family member who at least grants plausibility to 9/11 conspiracies and some other, shall we say, "fringe" theories about ...
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Are expired car seats no longer safe to use?
Many websites will claim a variant of the following claim:
Do not buy a used car seat unless you can verify the age of the seat. There should be a manufacturer's label on the back or bottom of the ...
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Do childrens' playgrounds designed to be safe reduce injuries to children?
In Tim Harford's book-length argument that some degree of messiness is, contrary to much modern opinion, a good thing, he makes an argument late in the book that applies to the spaces where children ...
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Does "dirty electricity" cause cancer?
Research by Magda Havas, Ph.D., of Trent University in Canada, and U.S. epidemiologist Samuel Milham, M.D., links something called “dirty electricity” with diabetes, malignant melanoma, and cancers of ...
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Does "reverse sound technology" make headphones safer?
Purebuds Earphones claims that their use of "Reverse Sound Technology" makes their earbuds safer, preventing hearing damage. I searched for a scientific study of this technology, or at least a good ...
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Is there credible evidence that a child using an iPad will have their eyesight affected?
I have been told by several people that allowing my young children (aged 2 and 5 at the time of writing) to use an iPad, or similar device, would affect their eyesight. I have found the following ...
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Is Radio Frequency Radiation carcinogenic at the FCC's 1996 exposure limits?
A 2019 Scientific American blog article, We Have No Reason to Believe 5G Is Safe, by Joel M. Moskowitz, warns about the safety of 5G wireless technology.
Yet, since [the 1980s], the preponderance of ...
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Is filling multiple vehicles in one transaction at a gas station a safety hazard?
According to this gas station, pumping gasoline into more than one vehicle is a serious safety hazard:
The gas station making this claim charges different customers different prices per gallon ...
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Do defensive driving courses reduce car accidents in teenage drivers?
A fairly common claim is that young learner drivers should take defensive driving courses so that they know what to do if they lose control of their car. This comes with the implications it will ...
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Are chicken haunches especially toxic?
There have been some health concerns raised (mainly through word of mouth) with regards to the toxicity of chicken haunches.
Apparently, in the industrial breeding and rearing of chickens many ...
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Does teaching 6-12-month old infants to back float reduce their risk of drowning?
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend water safety lessons for babies less than one year old:
The water-survival skills programs for infants may make compelling videos for the ...
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Does too much artificial lighting result in increased crime and safety problems?
According to a Washington Post article, Nebraska's tourism board is applying for dark sky certification for the Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area. As part of their application, they are
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Do strobes on top of school buses improve safety?
Background
In many states of the USA, school buses are fitted with a "roof-mounted strobe".
In some states, they are required by law:
Mike Simmons, state director in Arkansas, says that the ...
user29285
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Is using a phone while driving more dangerous than driving while drunk?
There have been numerous studies that show how using a phone while driving is more distracting than other non-driving tasks and even worse than driving while intoxicated.
Here was a study done in the ...
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Is a weaver's knot more secure with both ends on the same side?
There are two different ways one can make a weaver's knot.
One has both ends on the same side (a) the other on opposite sides (b).
Pictures and a statement "the two free ends should end up on the ...
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Are rear-end collisions more dangerous in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) than Petrol cars?
Is it more dangerous to be in a passenger car with compressed natural gas than with a petrol fuel tank when it comes to rear-end collisions?
Lawrence Godwin, on eZine claims there is a explosion risk ...
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Does Charles Shaw wine contain animal blood & feces?
A post by Chris Knox on Quora was quoted on Gothamist, talking about Charles Shaw wine (aka "Two Buck Chuck"), says:
"And it not only grabs ripe grapes, but unripe and down right rotten ones as ...
user20862
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Can surgical spirit and formaldehyde prevent blisters?
I saw the following claim in an article on Runner's World website:
If your feet sweat profusely, this can increase the chance of blisters. Try soaking them in surgical spirit, or even better, three ...
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Is the risk of explosion increased by calling and charging a cell phone at the same time?
I have often heard that charging a cell phone and calling in the same time may cause the cell phone to explode.
Here is a Facebook page that has pictures of what is claimed to be one such example. [...
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Are schools with armed guards or police safer?
The Huffington Post recently ran a story featuring Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA saying that,
"Putting police and armed security guards in our schools to protect our children ... it's the ...
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