The balance of benefit versus harm of an activity, device, technology or substance.
Questions tagged [safety]
158 questions
119
votes
1 answer
Were children safer in the good old days?
Edited, as every site I found in my search last night gave me sites that all say the same thing:
The perception is that the world is a really dangerous place for children these days
But the statistics I seem to find online seem to imply that despite…
Rory Alsop
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116
votes
3 answers
Were there 18 school shootings in the US from Jan 1 to Feb 14, 2018?
CBC Radio (Canada) reported earlier this evening that the Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School "was the 18th school shooting in the U.S. since the beginning of 2018.".
On its face this seems a bit unlikely; also due to the fact…
jkf
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106
votes
5 answers
Are personal electronics a risk to commercial aviation?
Are personal electronics (of present or recent past; e.g. cell phones, mp3 players, iPads) a risk to commercial air travel? Is the typical request to "turn off all personal electronic devices" based on any reasonable data?
DuckMaestro
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79
votes
3 answers
Does wearing a bicycle helmet make the cyclist safer?
Does wearing a helmet while bicycling make an individual cyclist safer?
That is, in the case of an accident, is one safer wearing an helmet? If yes, are the odds of an accident lower, higher or identical if one is wearing a helmet? If the odds of…
Goodbye Stack Exchange
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75
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1 answer
Do razors with more blades work better?
A known disposable razor company is claiming on their web site that their current product is superior to their old one because it has 5 blades instead of three.
You can see the claim on the "science" page here, watching the "Why Fusion is better…
Sklivvz
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74
votes
2 answers
Were pen cap holes designed to prevent death by suffocation if swallowed?
Someone posted the following trivia on a social media website:
Do you know that pen caps have holes so that if someone swallows a cap, then air could still pass through?
This started a small debate, with some saying that the needed volume of air…
Adrian Iftode
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73
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3 answers
Has a virus ever escaped a high-level virus lab "such as the one in Wuhan"?
As somewhat unclearly related in the Daily Mail:
Dr Keusch, Professor of Medicine and International Health at Boston University's Schools of Medicine and Public Health, stressed that no release of viruses from a high-level lab, such as the one in…
Fizz
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61
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1 answer
Is it less dangerous to box without gloves than with gloves?
From this YouTube video by Today I Found Out,
Most pertinent here, is that neither boxer would be wearing gloves in such a classic match. As paradoxical as it sounds, boxing without gloves is actually widely considered to be safer than boxing with…
Evan Carroll
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44
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1 answer
Is a woman more likely than a man to be seriously injured in a car crash of similar severity?
This article makes a number of interesting points about the potential dangers faced by women in a world "designed for men", but I want to ask specifically about this claim:
But when a woman is involved in a car crash, she is 47% more likely to
be…
bactrian
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43
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5 answers
Is drinking raw milk more dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk?
In Australia "raw milk", more commonly known as un-pasteurised milk, is mostly illegal for human consumption, except in one state, I do believe. The consensus appears to be that pasteurising the milk makes it safer to drink, but many argue (mostly…
Dwayne Charrington
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42
votes
2 answers
Has the time available to escape a house fire decreased significantly due to "modern furniture"?
The Facebook page QI - Quite Interesting has approximately 390 thousand followers. It posted a claim in December 2022 about the time available to escape a house on fire.
It claims a dramatic decrease due to the "flammability of modern furniture" but…
Nij
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40
votes
1 answer
Is it safe to stand by the windows during a thunderstorm?
There is widespread belief in my culture that we should not stay near door or windows during lightning. So people advise others to stay inside house with doors and windows closed to be safe from lightning. Is there any scientific basis for that idea…
Four Seasons
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38
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2 answers
Can you recharge non-rechargeable alkaline batteries?
There are conflicting reports of whether it is possible to safely recharge alkaline batteries (not lithium) that are not sold as rechargable. The packaging for batteries regularly has cautions against recharging. However, there are also claims…
Chris Dennett
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38
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1 answer
Should I cut off black banana ending before eating?
I was always told that I should cut off the black ending of a banana before eating, because it would be dangerous. Sources for this claim can for example be found here (though that source is actually rebuking the claim, but I was not able to find…
Adam Stelmaszczyk
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36
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Can you get your legs stuck around a pole, leading to cramping and then death?
I came across this video that makes a series of claims based around a position that a person can apparently get stuck in around a pole, and unintentionally kill themselves:
Hot girl tied to tree with no rope (Youtube)
The video demonstrates and…
Randolf Richardson
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