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He Blows Things Up So You Don't Have To

Posted by simoniker on from the bang-bang-it's-chuck-cramer dept.

Red Wolf writes "Popular Science reports on what is possibly the world's coolest job. During his 19 years as a laboratory technician for Underwriters Laboratories, Chuck Cramer has set coffeemakers on fire, knocked computers off desks, short-circuited fans, and blown up everything from toasters to curling irons - all in the name of consumer safety."

10 of 308 comments (clear)

  1. Suzuki Samurais by jimbobborg · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Is he also one of the fine people who rigged the Suzuki Samurai to rollover?

    1. Re:Suzuki Samurais by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Analysis:

      First Paragraph - What crap

      Second Paragraph - Yeah, they're safe for the people in the SUV but deadly to the people in the car that you hit.

      Third Paragraph - Not particularly. It just demonstrates the power of lobby groups to obtain an outcome that suits their interests at the cost of society. Besides the increased danger to all other road users, the lower fuel efficiency of large cars ensures that polution increases and the US government is happy to invade a country to make sure people can afford to 'gas up' their deadly monstrosities.

    2. Re:Suzuki Samurais by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      You're full of shit. If they'd been fudged and ended up as safer vehicles, driver & passenger mortality statistics would back that up in the real world. Simple fact is they don't.

    3. Re:Suzuki Samurais by pbrammer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I'm sorry? "...to the people in the car that you hit." That *I* hit? Fsck that.

      How about the quote that says this: "Yeah, they're safe for the people in the SUV, but deadly to the people in the car that hit you." Yeah, well, that's too bad, I guess. Maybe they shouldn't have run that stop sign or red light. Or maybe they should've been paying attention to the road. Or maybe...

      It's all subjective isn't it? This is exactly what lobby groups do. They spout off their own side of the story as I've done. I still haven't seen any empirical evidence that states SUV's are less SAFE than a passenger car. I'd take a rollover in and SUV over a Honda Civic anyday.

  2. Stone Phillips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Remember Stone Phillips, who showed how dangerous pickup trucks could be if you load them with lots of extra explosives before you test them?

  3. Consumer watchdog, eh? by fr0z · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Let me know when the **AAs get "tested"....

    --
    Never underestimate the predictability of human stupidity...
  4. Re:"popular science reports" by Anime_Fan · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    No, they can't.
    For if they do, the overwhelming power of slashdot would tear their bandwidth apart.

    They could however split the article into 25 pages to reduce load (no trolls - or other for that matter - would want to RTFA if it involved clicking multiple links).

  5. Re:inspector gadget says by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Close, but... [ed. note: no it isn't]

  6. Enjoy it while it lasts chuck by thelandp · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    With the way nanotechnology is going, things might soon be almost indestructible.

    --

    -- the only thing we have to fear is really scary things
  7. Blow me ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    blow me !