Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

Nikkster

I'm out, but in tonight Going to my friend who lives near Harry Potter. If its like least year it'll be just us (plus a cat) and we'll eat and drink lots of nice things whilst nattering with the TV on in the background.

Generali

Happy new year nice peeps. Amazing fireworks this year.

zagubov

LydiaJ wrote: »

I can't find it in Freakonomics. I know there's a lot about seat belts in Superfreakonomics, but I can't find my copy ATM.

My recollection of Superfreakonomics is that it says a lot about children over the age of 3 being only slightly safer (injuries less severe but no significant change in death rate) with a child seat than with an adult seat belt. It also says a lot about seat belts being cheap and effective and saving lots of lives.

I think it may also have said something about the injury rate going up when seat belts became compulsory, because people wearing them were less likely to be killed and therefore more likely to be in the injury stats. Or something like that, but my memory's a bit hazy about that one.

Googling for stats on seat belt compulsion and road death rates produces unanimity about death rates going down when belts are mandatory. There are papers about how much it goes down by, and how to explain various unexpectednesses in the extent to which it goes down, but I'm not finding anything to support an increase in the death rate.

I've a vague memory of something about that although the stats weren't from Britain but elsewhere in Northern Europe. Sweden?
I recall it suggested people behaved more recklessly when they thought they were safer.

Similarly when sunscreen lotions weree getting used heavilky there was an increase in skin cancer so they started to worry the sunscreen chemicals were carcinogens.

Turned out they weren't but people were assuming they were as protective as say, duffel coats worn at mindnight indoors in winter.

Plus people got overconfident about swimming while covered in waterproof sunscreens but didn't reapply more after swimming because they forgot that no lotion's towelproof.

Edit: just crossposted some of this with lir.

LydiaJ

lostinrates wrote: »

Ok...we all know my memory is shot, so I have probably got the book wrong. Maybe its not fatalities but crashes . I seems o remember the explanation as being that because people felt 'protected' they drove faster/with less care to avoid impact or some such. Less cautiously.

Well remembered! This possibility has been widely put forward and is one of the ones considered by the various papers discussing reasons for the extent of the decline in the death rate, including, for example, this one, which thinks that the effect of "risk compensation" of this kind is open to debate but probably significant, and this one, which says that the data don't support that theory.

I suspect that part of the issue is not so much people thinking "I have a seat belt and an air bag so I can drive dangerously and still be safe" and more to do with the way that today's cars give a much smoother and quieter ride than the old ones, so that you don't feel as if you're going as fast. I remember driving a hire car once, that was much more luxurious than I was used to, and continually having to brake as I realised that the speedo said I was going a lot faster than I felt I was.

LydiaJ

zagubov wrote: »

I've a vague memory of something about that although the stats weren't from Britain but elsewhere in Northern Europe. Sweden?
I recall it suggested people behaved more recklessly when they thought they were safer.

Similarly when sunscreen lotions weree getting used heavilky there was an increase in skin cancer so they started to worry the sunscreen chemicals were carcinogens.

Turned out they weren't but people were assuming they were as protective as say, duffel coats worn at mindnight indoors in winter.

Plus people got overconfident about swimming while covered in waterproof sunscreens but didn't reapply more after sawimming because they forgot that no lotion's towelproof.

Edit: just crossposted some of this with lir.

And now I've crossposted with you!

The sunscreen one is an interesting comparison. Most people, I gather, are pretty hopeless about understanding either how thickly you are supposed to apply it, or how frequently you are supposed to re-apply it, in order for it to work as its SPF indicates.

However, somebody must be using sunscreen "effectively" if it's being blamed (along with increased TV/computer use) for the increase in rickets.

lostinrates

Dh's seat belt definitely saved him from injury or worse in his rollover three years ago.

Conversely, it was probably that dog dog was not crated nor belted (not recommendation from me, but never theleas, something we choose to do with the big dogs sometimes, kiwi has a belt) that let him get her out so quickly, easily and without stress, as other wise the car would have to have been cut open. (She wriggle through over the seats and out the same window he crawled out of...there was no way out of the back at all. ).


Personally I cannot I,aging who would dream of driving with out now. Of course its mildly uncomfortable......(I'm not short but I have tits that get uncomfortable on it sometimes, small price to pay for potential life saving). Also I have to remember to scoot hair of of the way or I get hair breakage where it abrases (abrades?) against belt but Again......there is a solution, and an easy one.

lostinrates

I'm so hungry I might eat the kiwi. I had forgotten that about pools. After swimming in cold wet season in England one always wants cream of tomato soup and I can eat neither cream nor tomatoes. It would be JUST the thing though. Especially with one of PN's sausage rolls.
I really want to make cream of tomato soup now. It smells so good.

poet123

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm so hungry I might eat the kiwi. I had forgotten that about pools. After swimming in cold wet season in England one always wants cream of tomato soup and I can eat neither cream nor tomatoes. It would be JUST the thing though. Especially with one of PN's sausage rolls.
I really want to make cream of tomato soup now. It smells so good.

Strangely, there is only one soup I hate, it is Cream of Tomato and sod's law dictates that if we eat out and I fancy soup as a starter or I visit the work canteen for soup it is always the soup of the day!!

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

Happy new year nice peeps. Amazing fireworks this year.

It's a man from the future!!!

PasturesNew

poet123 wrote: »

.... soup of the day...

I have never understood why menus say "soup of the day" and don't tell you what it is. Invariably, nobody knows and has to go and "ask the chef".... so then there's a wait ... and it's awful when they come back and tell you it's tomato or mushroom ..... they should KNOW as the bolts are undone on the front door what the s0ddin' soup flavour is today ..... even better would be to say what it is on the menu somewhere.