Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                                       

Prevent Accidental Bathtub Drowning

Saves you from a most ignominous death!
  (+3, -8)(+3, -8)
(+3, -8)
  [vote for,
against]

Good baths can be enjoyable, but they are potentially hazardous too. All that steam and the fact that your body is relaxing totally can just make you feel drowsy and doze off. I mean, how many of us have never dozed off in the tub before?

Yet, what death could be more tragic than drowning in the bath tub?

To prevent this happening, we need a motion sensor device in the bathroom. If you stay still too long in a bathtub (after, say 5 mins or a user-defined interval), the bathtub will start to drain the water off. A side benefit is that your bathtub will always drain by itself - 5 mins after you leave it.

baboo, Apr 09 2002

Hazardous chemical substance http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html
baboo is well advised to stay away from [neelandan, Apr 09 2002]

Drowning Stats http://www.abs.gov....188a5c!OpenDocument
More in the tub than I thought. [dag, Apr 09 2002]

Perflubron http://www.sciencew...g/movies/abyss.html
The original liquid-breathing movie [RayfordSteele, Apr 15 2002]

[link]






       Alas, you can drown faster than that!
neelandan, Apr 09 2002
  

       Just wondering, baboo; have you been saving up all these ideas to post in one giant burst?
Pseudonym #3, Apr 09 2002
  

       //Yet, what death could be more tragic than drowning in the bath tub?// eaten by rats in a lonely dungeon - for starters.
po, Apr 09 2002
  

       Ah yes, the Amontillado...
waugsqueke, Apr 09 2002
  

       So Waugs, Po's been misspelling his name for all this time? I assume he's been posting all his annotations from the cold, clammy embrace of the crypt...
mcscotland, Apr 09 2002
  

       portunato?   

       (_She_ make take issue with your choice of pronouns.)
waugsqueke, Apr 09 2002
  

       Is it really possible to drown by falling asleep and submerging under water? I'd think that the first breath that wasn't air would wake you before it was even fully drawn.   

       Of course, I guess there is always the danger of death from wrinkling.
beauxeault, Apr 09 2002
  

       Even if it doesn't save you from drowning, it'd save you from having to reach back in and open the drain. Could shave five seconds off your morning (or evening) routine.
phoenix, Apr 09 2002
  

       Wouldn't it be better to have the sensor make a noise to wake you up, instead of draining the bath? I've nodded off in the bath a few times (and survived to tell the tale) - I'd be really pissed off if I awoke to find the bath had emptied.
salachair, Apr 09 2002
  

       <aside> [neelandan]: That dhmo link has a list of dangers:
-Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
-Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
-Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
Don't the first and third seem to be in conflict with each other, somewhat?</aside>
bristolz, Apr 09 2002
  

       Personally, I'm in favour of accidental bathtub drowning, which is why I'm fishboning this. In fact, I think a device which slowly lowers a hairdryer or toaster into the tub would be far more effective at keeping people awake.
pottedstu, Apr 09 2002
  

       Slowly or not, ZAP.   

       In a controlled environment (and with nobody in harms way) it's quite a show to combine an electrical device and water! If I could croissant your comment [pottedstu], I would.
dag, Apr 09 2002
  

       I quote from dag's link: "Drowned in a bathtub" Male: 57 Female: 74 (1992-1998, Australia), making up 6% of all drowning cases. I wonder at the gender imbalance, but anyhow this shows that an auto-bath-drainer could have saved 131 lives!
baboo, Apr 10 2002
  

       To Pseudonyn: I saved up all these crackpot ideas all my life and nearly burst apart trying to contain them, until I found Halfbakery... how does that sound?   

       um no, these ideas just pop up [double-layered balloons] I can't stop them [fat costumes for anorexics] they just possess me [dictionary of vulgar words] faster than [marshmellow-filled croissants] I can submit them [mutating emails] oh help darn
baboo, Apr 10 2002
  

       bris: //accidental inhalation// - (into lungs)
//Excessive ingestion// - (into stomach)
neelandan, Apr 10 2002
  

       Okay [neelandan] I'll buy that distinction but I am left wondering what constitutes "excessive ingestion," anything above none?
bristolz, Apr 10 2002
  

       I had a friend who used to drink DHMO. He used to mix it with ethyl alcohol. Said the taste was terrible, otherwise.   

       It made him act crazy, too. While the rest of us were lying down somewhere cool, like, man, I mean, the gutter, like, he used to stand there yammering at us to get a move on and get back to the dorm and what not.
neelandan, Apr 12 2002
  

       I'm firmly in favo(u)r of this idea. Only intentional bathtub drownings should be permitted.
waugsqueke, Apr 12 2002
  

       Inflatable plastic pillow wore around the neck for the relaxing bath tub nap.
bing, Apr 12 2002
  

       You could always bathe in perflubron, like in the movie 'The Abyss.' Might get expensive, though.   

       I always wanted to fill a swimming pool with that stuff.
RayfordSteele, Apr 15 2002
  

       Or you could take a shower. My sister regularly goes to sleep in the shower, and she hasn't drowned yet. (Although I wonder what would happen if her head should fall back and her mouth open...)
pottedstu, Apr 15 2002
  

       > Unless they were sitting over the plughole at the time.   

       Put a 2nd drain at the other end of the tub. And slope it a little differently.
ThotMouser, Apr 30 2002
  

       I THINK THIS IS AGOOD IDEA AND QUITE CLEVER BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A 2nd DRAIN OR MAYBE MORE.
wkd_man, May 04 2002
  

       You could always make bath water that is made of the same liquid that re-breathers use.
emtae, May 05 2002
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle