Sunday, August 9, 2009

Did You Know?...

What "The Bends" Really Is?


Many of us have come to associate the phrase, "the bends" with the beloved contemporary musical group Radiohead, as the title of one of their more accessible, acoustically geared albums. But did you know where Mr. Yorke and Co. appropriated that title from? The bends, known more formally by its scientific title, Decompression Sickness is actually "a condition arising from the precipitation of dissolved gasses into bubbles inside the body upon depressurisation"?! In other words, your whole body turns into a shaken up soda can, and you explode from within!

In other words, "DCS is caused by a steep, fast-paced reduction in the ambient pressure surrounding the body, as may happen when:

1. Leaving a high pressure environment

2. Ascending from depth

3. Ascending to altitude"


Terrifying, right? Well get this: "Its effects may vary from joint pain and rash to paralysis and death."

An impressive range of utterly horrifying effects, indeed.

Steer clear, folks.

2 comments:

  1. thats what happens when whales carry you down to their depths.

    watch out!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Horrifying. One of the scariest videos I've ever seen was of a woman being pulled straight down by a Beluga. I get nauseous just thinking about it.

    ReplyDelete