Seriously guys, you just can't make this stuff up. A 23 year old Canadian college student was killed when a crashing helicopter struck and dragged him as he was walking to his mailbox. Apparently eyewitnesses noticed that the youth was completely unaware of his impending doom and a friend told reporters that he often listened to music through earbuds underneath the hood of his sweatshirt. Naturally, reaction was swift. If he had not been listening to music perhaps he could have nimbly sidestepped the helicopter and gone about his business as if nothing had happened. After all, this sort of crap happens everyday right?
While I completely agree that listening to music too loudly can inhibit your ability to recognize and react to a potentially dangerous situation around you, I can't help but find it completely baffling that this story sparked a debate about the dangers of headphone use while completely glossing over the fact that this dude was hit by a HELICOPTER. In fact, no concrete evidence was given that he was even wearing headphones at the time. At any rate, this fiasco has really struck a chord with me. From this day forward I will not wear headphones while traveling on foot just in case a meteor, satellite, or charging rhino should be barreling towards me. [Globe and Mail via Headphone Info]
