Water vs. Coke

Very interesting indeed! Water or Coke? We all know that water is important but I’ve never seen it written down like this before.

WATER

1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 30%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of COKE

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or coke?

Stacy Neill | Marketing Director

The Three Most Common Mistakes in Fall Protection

Mistake #3: Lack of Quality Training Often times injuries and deaths from falls are in direct relation to the amount or lack thereof of quality instructor led and hands-on training performed by companies to their exposed personnel.  This lack of training and subsequent understanding of when and how to use a fall protection system has resulted in serious injuries and fatalities.  Companies need to take a serious look at their training modules and effectiveness of training by ensuring their exposed personnel not only have had instruction on the specific systems they are to use but that they understand when, how and why they are using them.  If signs of knowledge deficiencies or unsafe behaviors are found re-training should be conducted immediately.   Mistake #2: Anchorage & Free Fall Calculations Throughout my seven years working in and around trades that are exposed to falls, one of the most common scenes that repeats is improper anchorage.  I have seen roof personnel tied to buckets of material, tower climbers tied to a rotating or loose antenna booms and even workers tied to each other.  Appropriate anchorage is determined by OSHA as a point that can withstand 5,000 lbs. of force.  A competent person is responsible for determining these points of anchorage and ensuring personnel will be safe in the event of a fall.  Often times during training we tell trades to imagine that they bought a brand new S-10 pickup truck and have to hang this truck, without insurance protection, from their proposed tie-off point.  If they can confidently answer that they think their point of anchorage can hold the truck then it’s likely a suitable anchorage for an individual’s fall protection. With the emergence of self-retracting lifelines (SRL’s) the necessity for calculating free-fall has been reduced somewhat.  However, rope grab systems and even SRL systems need to be planned so that free fall of greater than 6 feet cannot occur.  Often times you will see an individual working at a level 20 feet above grade with 30 feet of slack in their rope system.  Or you will see an anchorage set at the leading edge with the contractor working 10 feet directly perpendicular to the anchor allowing for a 10 foot free fall.  Even more common you will see workers performing activities at height just above the 6ft. requirement in which fall arrest system could not prevent contact to a lower level or grade.  Free fall considerations can only be made for each individual working scenario at the time of the work to be performed.  Personnel must understand the importance of limiting free fall as well as ways to work with the limitations of the systems they are provided with. Mistake #1: Incompetent or Indifferent On-Site Supervision It’s a matter of fact… Most tradesmen will work the way they see their supervisors work.  Your on-site management is the most important cog in the fall protection system.  If your on-site supervision requires safe behaviors and safe actions you will likely see safe behaviors and actions from their subordinates.  If your supervisor has the mentality of get it done as fast as possible no matter the risk then you are likely to see unsafe actions and fall protection set-ups as a result.  Your on-site direct supervision has the most sway on worker safety and therefore should be of mindset that mirrors your fall protection program and goals.  Without this “buy-in” from you on-site competent person, all is for not.  Companies should take a long hard look at the people they have running their work in high hazard situations and make sure that these individuals have what it takes to educate, instruct, discipline and decide how the work should be completed in  a safe and compliant manner.