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Boy Killed By Exploding Office Chair

Posted by samzenpus on from the sit-very-slowly dept.

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

26 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Wow... by danep · · Score: 1

    Apparently this has been a danger for decades with similar incidents reported in China, Britain, Belgium, and Germany.

  2. Rectum? by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hell, it fucking KILLED him.

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
    1. Re:Rectum? by BakaHoushi · · Score: 1

      I'm glad I wasn't drinking tea when I read that or else I'd be currently on the market for a new monitor.

  3. OMG! by garretraziel · · Score: 1

    I'll never sit on my chair again!

    1. Re:OMG! by KibibyteBrain · · Score: 2, Funny

      I always knew sitting in a chair all day in front of a computer would kill me, but not quite in this way.

  4. This is... by Crashspeeder · · Score: 2

    a horrible way to die. Poor kid.

  5. This is an old, existing problem. by pcgabe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Per this story from the '80s:

    The problem has cropped up with adjustable office chairs fitted with
    nitrogen gas cylinders in place of the conventional springs in their height
    control mechanism. Preliminary findings suggest that metal fatigue cracks
    can develop in the cylinders, possibly caused by the poor chairs being asked
    to cope with more than they can bear.

    In short, if your chair uses a spring (most likely), then you are in no danger. You can sit easily now.

    --
    Don't put advice in your sig.
    1. Re:This is an old, existing problem. by pcgabe · · Score: 1

      OK, so now I've read the article (I don't know whether to go "What? I posted before reading the article?" or "What? I've read the the article?"), and it says:

      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.

      (emphasis mine)

      Is this true? All (three) of my desk chairs use springs. ....how old is my furniture? I know I've had to replace the cushions a couple of times...

      --
      Don't put advice in your sig.
  6. Re:There's no blood on the chair by sjames · · Score: 1

    You also have to factor in acceleration. For example, if he jumped up and into the chair for some reason (he was 14, who knows why?).

  7. Slowly backing away from my chair now... by tobiah · · Score: 1

    Actually, I usually sit on an exercise ball. Coworkers ask me about it every once in awhile, I'm the only one doing this in a fair-sized company. (that I know of) I am totally posting this, just to see the reaction.

    --
    "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
  8. NSFW by tobiah · · Score: 1

    and TFA link totally needs a NSFW warning. Dude, seriously.

    --
    "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
    1. Re:NSFW by conureman · · Score: 1

      The bottom of the page has a link to another unlucky kid with a protruding arrow. You have been warned

      --
      The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
  9. He was Atlantean by tobiah · · Score: 1

    His blood's all over that chair. Where have you been all day?

    --
    "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
    1. Re:He was Atlantean by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      His blood's all over that chair. Where have you been all day?

      Atlantean royalty.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  10. Oblig by mgiuca · · Score: 2, Funny

    Next on Slashdot: Steve Ballmer authorizes a large shipment of office chairs for his meeting rooms.

    1. Re:Oblig by KibibyteBrain · · Score: 2, Funny

      This is the real reason he threw the chair. He realized it was about to explode and got it out of the way just in time. What a hero.

  11. Before the obese generation by PingPongBoy · · Score: 1

    Yet another reason to acquire

    buns of steel

    --
    Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
  12. Suspicious Pictures of Chair... by Kolie · · Score: 1

    The second picture of the chair totally looks like a goatse. Amirite? http://www.sankakucomplex.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/33373__448x_exploded-chair-gas-cylinder.jpg

  13. Re:Slowly backing away from my chair now... by Cougar_ · · Score: 1

    My sister-in-law was sitting on one of those, holding her newborn baby, when it burst. Not a good thing.

  14. Re:There's no blood on the chair by dov_0 · · Score: 1

    There is blood. He was Royal...

    --
    sudo mount --milk --sugar /cup/tea /mouth /etc/init.d/relax start
  15. I had no clue... by Korey+Kaczor · · Score: 1

    I had no clue that the exploding chairs in the video game Goldeneye 007 wasn't a programming oversight, but a feature. You learn something new every day -- you really do.

  16. Re:There's no blood on the chair by Sitnalta · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree. This is probably a hoax. Never mind the fact that there's no blood ANYWHERE, or that there're no pictures of the ruptured gas canister itself, just look at the news sources. Do they look like credible news sites to you?

    Until I see some credible evidence I'm just going to file this under urban legends. The fact is: people are liars, doubly so when juvenile shits and giggles can be had at the expense of gullible people on the internet.

  17. Re:Rectum? Damn near killed him by JustOK · · Score: 1

    too late...

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  18. Re:Slowly backing away from my chair now... by AGMW · · Score: 3, Funny
    My sister-in-law was sitting on one of those, holding her newborn baby, when it burst. Not a good thing.

    Her baby burst? Now that's really gotta ruin your day!

    --
    Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
    handmadehands.co.uk
  19. Re:There's no blood on the chair by QuasiEvil · · Score: 1

    Not only that, but every chair I have has a metal plate on the bottom, between the gas cylinder and the sittin' part. There's no way one of those cylinders could blow that big of a hole in that plate.

  20. Re:Slowly backing away from my chair now... by hedwards · · Score: 1

    That's why the make burst proof ones. They do still leak, but when they get a hole they don't burst suddenly, they'll just deflate relatively gently.