6th Station ~Other Bands for H!P Fans~

[TotallyUncool]

I hope so. And I hope that people in the entertainment industry (and in everyday life) come to fully understand that it's really not safe to treat helium inhalation like a risk-free game.
It's strange, too, because with just about all of the other non-air things that you can put in your lungs (smoke, smog, ether, solvent fumes, gasoline, coal and asbestos dust, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, etc.), even people who consciously choose to be exposed to them (like smokers) are aware that there are risks, and maybe serious ones. But with helium, it seems like too many people think, "Well it makes you talk like a duck at parties, so it must be safe!"

[AyuHikaru]

We don't really see helium as dangerous. For some reason we just kinda forget it's risky because it's helium! But all gases are dangerous, hell even oxygen is dangerous.

[Moh]

the girl may be suffering from a cerebral air embolism

Jfc, that's awful. How could anybody think that was a good idea?

[DSQueenie]

They're saying she's in a coma now. I know I honestly had no idea that helium was so dangerous. I know that something are unforeseeable but you'd think they would do stunts like this with the utmost caution. Really scary.

[Zunu]

Here's some info from an unrelated but similar accident which explains the risks pretty well:

Spoiler: show

Although witnesses said Long drank that night and toxicology results are pending, an autopsy by Dr. James Olson of the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office determined she died of an air embolism "due to inhalation of a helium gas mixture from a pressurized canister."

What happens, Olson explained, is that the pressure in the tank sends the helium to the lungs with so much force it can rupture them. Once the lungs are destroyed, the gas can get into blood vessels, sending tiny bubbles to other major organs that can cause additional damage.

Think about how quickly it takes to fill a Mylar balloon with a helium tank, Olsen said. Then think about that same force hitting a person's lungs.

That force is key, said Dr. William Hurley, medical director of the Washington Poison Center, which is why sucking helium from a balloon doesn't carry the same risks. Instead, that vibrates the vocal chords, changing the timbre of a voice and producing a cartoon-character sound.

"I've never heard of a case of an air embolism being caused by a balloon," he said.

Still, helium is a dangerous gas when consumed, said Dr. Mark Morocco, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, which is why it's best to avoid inhaling it at all.

"It's worse if it's pressurized, but it's not safe if it's in a balloon. You can put helium in a bag and cover your head under normal atmospheric pressure and you'll die sounding like Donald Duck," he said. "I would not use helium for anything other than filling up party balloons."

That's how many mail-order suicide kits work. The controversial devices operate when someone places a plastic hood over his head and uses tubing to connect it to a helium tank, but in those instances, the oxygen in the lungs is slowly replaced with helium, causing the person to suffocate.

And as for the others inhaling the helium at the party? They likely didn't create strong enough of a seal with their mouths to send the gas into their lungs with the same force as Long did, Olson said -- and were very lucky.

"Some people get away with it," he said. "Occasionally it happens."

Deaths from inhaling helium are very rare -- so rare, in fact, that the American Association of Poison Controls Center groups helium with other "simple asphyxiants" such as carbon dioxide, methane and propane, said spokeswoman Loreeta Canton. Three deaths from simple asphyxiants were recorded nationwide in 2010.

TL;DR is that it can be dangerous but deaths are extremely rare, a lot rarer than from say parachuting, rock climbing, or eating peanuts. Around the same order of magnitude as deaths from fugu consumption. If you're going to do it, inhale from an inflated balloon, not directly from the gas tank.

[Shoujo Q]

Helium isn't a renewable resource either. Once it's gone it won't come back. I wish people wouldn't use it like it's like water. Which can also be dangerous in large amounts. You can get hurt from the most innocent of things you know. I really hope this girl pulls through. Any update on her?

[Celedam]

So, funk music is making a comeback, largely thanks to a white nerd from England. Huh.

[Amped]

Ariana Grande's grammy performance was pretty.

[esm]

On my phone now so can't post much, but there are more Babymetal concerts abroad coming up.

Too bad my sister has to have her freakin' PhD graduation ceremony during the Chicago date (May 14th).

edit: info on their page
http://www.babymetal.jp/

I'm happy they're coming to Chicago AND Columbus. Expansion into the Midwest is good.

[Celedam]

On my phone now so can't post much, but there are more Babymetal concerts abroad coming up.

May 09 — Mexico City
May 12 — Toronto, Ont.
May 14 — Chicago, IL
May 16 — Columbus, OH
May 29–31 — Nürburg, Germany (exact date TBA)
May 29–31 — Munich, Germany (exact date TBA)
June 04–06 — Vienna, Austria (exact date TBA)
June 21 — Chiba, Japan

http://babymetal.com/babymetal-world-tour-2015-dates-announced-part-1/

Wow, three dates near me, all pretty much equidistant, east, west, and south. I did not expect that. What to do…

Columbus would be nice, because it's a Saturday and I can drive there, but it's a festival and festivals suck. Chicago would mean taking vacation days, riding the train, and spending serious money to stay downtown, but the House of Blues is a good venue.

I need to think about this.