Chair explosion kills a Boy

Yamaraj

Adept
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exploded-chair-gas-cylinder.jpg


A fourteen-year-old boy was killed after the chair he was sitting on exploded, propelling sharp chairs parts into his rectum, resulting in extensive bleeding, to which he succumbed before medical attention could stem the flow.

The accident occurred when the boy was alone, sitting on the chair (which was for PC use); he managed to overcome the pain and call his father, who summoned an ambulance, but it took an hour to get him to hospital, by which time it was too late for him.

The chair in question was a standard gas cylinder type, where the height is regulated by an adjustable cylinder containing highly pressurised gas, and it was this which exploded, sending high velocity chair parts into the posterior of the unfortunate youth.

In fact, it seems a spate of such incidents were reported at the hospital – 3 such injuries caused by exploding chairs were reported this month, perhaps indicating an influx of poorly manufactured chairs into the area. In 2007 a similar accident also propelled a 20cm part into the rear of a 68-year-old man, who suffered a severe 5cm wound; he survived.

The illustrated chair shows the severity of such a cylinder malfunction.

We do not hear where the chair parts in question were made, though of course with the accident occuring in China it is likely there that they were made.

Three factors are implicated in such accidents:

1. The gas in the cylinder is contaminated with gases other than nitrogen.

2. The materials used in the cylinder are deficient, reducing the durability of the part.

3. The cylinder is not completely airtight.

Oil based hydraulic devices are said to be safer, but most such chairs on the market today use gas cylinders; naturally these tend to be made in China, where this accident occurred.

The boy in question weighed 80kg (certainly a fair amount for a 14-year-old Asian youth), which might have been a factor (though this will not reassure heavier framed non-Asian adults); it is suggested that using such chairs without placing excessive pressure on the cylinder is advisable – otherwise sitting on a steel plate might help.

Via Itai News.

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I'm getting myself an old-fashioned wooden chair now. Fsck technology! :mad:

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Me weighing currently 110kg(previous 104kgs!) broke 3 times my Steel chair(computer chair).now I put it in Junk and got one wooden chair from dining room :p .comfy :d
 
Death by anal penetration, no less!

While it takes place in all prisons across the globe, I'm sure even Dante couldn't think of it while authoring Divine Comedy.
 
sucks... i used to sit on those chairs at my ex job.. :ashamed:
i have the mechanical one at home, with a key to lock its position... :D
 
Yamaraj said:
t is suggested that using such chairs without placing excessive pressure on the cylinder is advisable

Nah, i'd never have thought of that :crazeyes:

Yamaraj said:
otherwise sitting on a steel plate might help.

Maybe after this they will come with one built in.

Yamaraj said:
Oil based hydraulic devices are said to be safer
How does one even tell the difference ?

Yamaraj said:
I'm getting myself an old-fashioned wooden chair now. Fsck technology! :mad:

heh, surreal :no:

Tho I can't understand how it exploded this way. We don't see the fragments of the cylinder in the grab which would've helped understand little more.

Any mech engs care to share some insight ?

Hmm, here's something from '86, excerpted from the Guardian :O

Exploding chairs' two-year history (Tuesday, 12th August 1986)

The danger of office chairs exploding has not previously been made public
because of official reluctance to raise an "alarmist scare", it emerged
yesterday. The public has not been warned about blasts scattering steel
fragments and metal bolts caused by failures in adjustable chairs fitted
with nitrogen cylinders instead of conventional springs. Cases of serious
injury came to light two years ago. ...

In September 1984, the Consumers' Association passed to the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) details reported by consumer organisations in Europe
of incidents involving office chairs. They included accounts of two deaths,
one in Belgium and the other in West Germany, where, it was reported, a
piece of steel had penetrated a victim's brain through the eye. .... The
HSE has stressed that only 11 incidents, three of which caused injury, are
known to have occurred in Britain - where up to 2 million of the chairs are
in use.
and another article from 2007

Getting 'shot in the buttocks' is no laughing matter :(
 
blr_p said:
How does one even tell the difference ?

compressibility of oil is less than that of air/gas.. so its not pressurized as much.. (thats y oil is used for heavy lifting)

and the hydraulic ones work in a different manner..

blr_p said:
Tho I can't understand how it exploded this way. We don't see the fragments of the cylinder in the grab which would've helped understand little more.

Any mech engs care to share some insight ?

cylinder is under pressure.. may be some weak link in the construction, that caused the fracture..(or loose fitting/assembly)

but these designs must have some kinda safety norms.. that in case of such an incident.. nothing shud penetrate the bottom of the seat.. :no:
 
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