Dumb Ways To Die

[cameragod]

Cute ad for train safety but I think over the years I've actually covered most of these dumb ways to go.

[zac love]

Catchy song, wish more PSAs were fun like that.

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I can't say for sure if this has saved my life, or might someday, but I developed a little bit of wisdom after a short time working in news & nearly every story I covered that involved a death also involved a "duh" element.

My "duh" wisdom goes like this:
If the thing I'm about to do has the potential of going horribly wrong & then that horribly wrong aftermath ends up in the news & the reaction to that headline by viewers is "well duh," then I don't do what I was about to do.

Here are two examples:

1. My milk is two days past expiration date, but I still want some cereal & don't want to run to the store to buy more. I pause & imagine the horrible case scenario: I get sick for two days & miss work. No chance of this aftermath ending up in the news, thus no headline & no average viewer thinking "well duh" to my actions.

Action: yes, taste the milk.

2. I'm on my roof cleaning leafs out of the gutter, take a break to watch "gangnam style" & want to try out the fun dance moves. Horrible case scenario: I have two left feet slip & fall off the roof; definitely ends up on the news b/c neighbor's kid recorded the whole thing & posted it to YouTube; headline reads: "Local man falls off roof & breaks his neck after trying to dance like K-Pop super star," every viewer at home "well duh."

Action: resist the urge to dance until on solid ground & out of sight of any iPhones.