The Soft Bigotry Of Drinking Too Much Water

[omega minimo]

"Your body is 98 percent water," one of the hosts remarked to his on-air audience. "Why can't you take in as much water as you want?”

*

The America we knew is over. Video Killed The Radio Star. Two generations of military fighters have been raised clinging to joysticks, fixing on digitized targets. Drive Time Morning Rave and Nintendo Wii madness killed a surburban mom-- with water! We are witnessing the Jackassification of America.

Some would argue that marker passed when Ronald Reagan was elected in a “landslide” and punk’d the nation with a split screen inauguration showing his swearing in, split with the Iran hostages walking down an airplane stair to freedom.

Irreverance is In. Context was SOoooo 2 minutes ago. Ignorance is Strength. Jackass is awesome. Borat is “satire.”

Political Correctness is so..... correct. How could a little bigotry hurt ya? Over 98% of your society is drenched in bigotry! What the hell!? Why even bother trying to sort any of it out-- there’s so many more important things to not pay attention to! The Doomsday Clock is two minuters closer than it was before..... um, closer to..... what? Dunno, but it’s bad, dude, it’s bad. (And I mean dude, like, ya know, for both males and females cuz, ya know, like, DUDE....)

Don’t tell me what to do!
Don’t tell me what to say!
Don’t tell me what to think!
Don’t make me think!

Don’t tell me someone’s dying of water! They'll puke it up first. Whatever.

(Dude, did you make sure they signed the waiver?)


Cooooooooooooooooool.



*********
A stupid radio stunt's tragic finale
Sacramento DJs joked as contestant guzzled fatal quantity of water
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/01/18/MNGMMNKOHS1.DTL
- C.W. Nevius
Thursday, January 18, 2007

There were lots of reasons to think Jennifer Strange was in deep trouble after she spent hours guzzling in a water-drinking contest at a Sacramento radio station.

"I asked her, 'How do you feel?' " said Elidia Campos, one of 20 contestants. "She said, 'Oh, my God. I feel so awful, I'm about to pass out.' ''

But the DJs at KDND-FM apparently figured that was her problem, wasn't it? It was her choice to enter Friday morning's contest. The hosts can be heard joking on an audiotape of Friday's show about how Strange's stomach was distended from drinking nearly 2 gallons of water, and they teased her and other contestants because they did not "look so good."

Told by another DJ that "We got a guy who's just about to die," one of the jocks had a quick response.

"Make sure he signs the release," he chortled, setting off gales of laughter in the studio.

It was, in short, typical dumbbell morning radio, featuring the kind of stupid stunts and heckling that have raised ratings on stations across the nation. It has certainly worked for KDND's "The Morning Rave," which has become one of Sacramento's top-rated drive-time shows. And if you found their antics mean and offensive, maybe you just weren't cool enough to get the joke.

Then Jennifer Strange died.
<snip>
Twenty-eight years old, married and the mother of three, Strange had entered the "Hold your Wee for a Wii'' contest to try to win a Nintendo Wii video game player for her kids. Contestants had to drink as much water as they could without going to the bathroom. What Strange didn't know was that after drinking so much water in a little over four hours, she'd given herself a deadly condition that the coroner would later say was consistent with water intoxication. She was found dead that afternoon in her Rancho Cordova home.
<snip>
As the contestants dropped out, it became clear that some of them were having serious health problems. Not that anyone at the station seemed concerned.

"There was a girl on the floor," says Campos, who made it to the final five. "She must have been there for an hour with her teeth chattering. They were heckling her."

"Your body is 98 percent water," one of the hosts remarked to his on-air audience. "Why can't you take in as much water as you want?"
<snip>
As a listener who identified herself as "Eve" told the morning crew, people "can get sick and possibly die from water intoxication."

"We're aware of that," one jock replied. And another jumped in to wisecrack that everyone in the contest had signed releases, "so we're not responsible."

Another joke. Are those guys zany and irreverent or what?
<snip>
The station announced that it had fired 10 staff members, including the five hosts of the "Morning Rave," which was canceled.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits are likely to stretch from here to the top of the Sierra. A legal action is already in the works from an attorney representing the Strange family. Because as tragic as Strange's death was, other contestants on Friday were nearly as ill.

"No one was more sick than anyone else," Campos says. "We were so out of it, so disoriented. I felt like I was drunk. There was no way I could make a rational decision, especially with people egging you on."

Campos dropped out with two other contestants when one of them began to vomit. That triggered two others to throw up, although it didn't help when one of the DJs made retching sounds to encourage heaving.
<snip>
Lukas, Maney and Trish, hosts of "The Morning Rave," released a statement.

"At this time," it said, "we would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of Jennifer Strange. We want to thank all of our listeners for their continued support and we ask that you join us by keeping Jennifer and her family in your thoughts and prayers."

Now they're sorry? What a joke.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.W. Nevius' column appears regularly. His blog, C.W. Nevius.blog, and podcast, "News Wrap," can be found at sfgate.com.

[DRoseDARs]

1. "Now they're sorry? What a joke." Best line in the article.

Given the overwhelming evidence these "jokers" couldn't care less about the danger they were putting the contestants in, methinks there's plenty to convict them on involuntary manslaughter charges. :thumbsup:

[omega minimo]

2. Good punchline. Worth the setup. 'Cept for that whole "death" thingie...

Yep a lawyer for the family is suing-- he referred to the "trash media" that feeds on humiliating people.

Maybe being a total idiot on-air will lose some of its glamour.

[Savannah_H]

49. Held Accountable 100%

The radio station should be held 100% accountable for that lady's demise. Makes me sick!

[sakabatou]

3. For mamals

We're freakin' stupid.

[KG]

4. i'll never understand why people take part in such spectacles.

from the mean-spirited fucks that think up such contests, to the mindless drone that take part, to the people who derive some kind of perverse pleasure from witnessing it.

[ContraBass Black]

20. To win the prize.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mondo joe]

6. What the hell are you talking about?

Where is the "soft bigotry" here anyway?

People have always done stupid, even negligent, things. This isn't the first time, and won't be the last.

And Borat IS satire.

[ProfessorGAC]

36. I'll Take Your Word For The Last Part

But, you know, satire can be poorly done, too.
The Professor

[Horse with no Name]

7. I think I heard one of the talking heads say that they could get 4 years in prison

Is it enough?
Depends on what you think is enough.
While most certainly they won't be on the radio anymore--most certainly they wouldn't do any stupid contests again...4 years in prison is a long time.
If that is all there is, I will take it.
Because not only will it keep them from doing something stupid like this, it most assuredly will keep some other stupid jocks from doing it to.
This death is most definitely a result of the dumbing down of America.
I'm a nurse. I would have known that you couldn't do this.
But, this should be something that everyone should know. It is basic science. But, our schools don't teach anything anymore that can't be answered by blackening in an oval.
That is where the real emphasis should go.
These contestants should have known this. But they didn't because their schools don't teach basic science anymore.
Very sad.

[Zodiak]

8. 4 years is enough

for negligent homicide.

And they should go to jail....they apparently didn't even bother to consult a helth-care professional. Even I could have told them that water toxicity can kill (and 2 gallons is a LOT), and I am just an insect biologist. The jokes and the jeering only solidifies the case for negligence, especially after they were warned by a caller.

I hope this has an incredible chilling effect on the "lets see how far people will go for a pittance" trend I have seen lately in our entertainment media. It was only a matter of time before someone got seriously hurt, much less killed.

[omega minimo]

9. I think they should only get bread and water in jail-- with no bread

:evilgrin:


As for your great post-- yes! It's amazing that what is really basic education is missing from the lives of so many/most of the players in this story.

One surprise here is that Entercom as the station mega owner doesn't have lawyers checking liability on these games before they happen. Last night's news said it actually may change the way radio stations do contests. We'll see.

"But, this should be something that everyone should know. It is basic science. But, our schools don't teach anything anymore that can't be answered by blackening in an oval.
That is where the real emphasis should go.
These contestants should have known this. But they didn't because their schools don't teach basic science anymore.
Very sad."

Well put. "Our schools don't teach anything anymore that can't be answered by blackening in an oval."

And there was a news story in the same region in recent years about a college hazing where a boy died from Drinking Too Much Water!!!! :wow: Even when a nurse called in and warned them they laughed it off.

Maybe scarier than the cluelessness is the callousness of "professionals" on the air thining that if someone signed a waiver, it doesn't matter what happens to them.....

[ThomCat]

15. I don't agree with killing them in response to this.

Giving them nothing but water, I hope that was a joke, reduces the seriousness of this discussion. And given that everyone seems to be complaining about about other people not taking discussions seriously, well...

These people were clearly negligent. Someone died needlessly. They need to be arrested and put on trial. Years in jail would be appropriate. Insulting people (including each other) doesn't add anything.

[MamaBear]

10. And the station program director should be charged as an accomplice.

Just my opinion, but permitting a stupid stunt like this to go forward without checking to see if it could actually cause injury, or having any medical personnel around in case something went wrong, should at least rise to the level of reckless endangerment, if not wanton disregard for human life.

Would anybody have entered this contest if they knew up front it could kill them?

Or is simple caring for the welfare of others just too sentimental in this ironic new age? :grr:

[Irreverend IX]

48. I'd like someone to explain to me...

Why they shouldn't get a medal for aiding the process of natural selection.

[mondo joe]

11. This is as ridiculous as blaming child molesting priests on liberalism.

Moralists are always looking for some Unified Field Theory to tie together all the things they don't like in one bundle.

It's fallacious and appalling.

[Midlodemocrat]

12. And at what point does personal responsibility come into play?

The contest was stupid, but so was the contestant. No, of course she didn't deserve to die for her stupidity, but she was stupid all the same.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Horse with no Name]

14. But can you make that case that ignorance is worthy of death?

There is a HUGH!1!! subset of our population that believes everything because the man on the teevee told me.
I still know someone who thinks Bush is a Christian--because he told her he was on the teevee.
One should be able to assume that entering a contest isn't going to kill you.
Some people wrongly assume that others care enough to not let something happen to them.
My guess?
These jocks wanted to push the envelope. They didn't really want anyone to actually die...but they wanted a full-fledged barf-o-rama or piss fest to boost their ratings.
And that is probably ALL that they thought would happen.

[Midlodemocrat]

23. Absolutely not.

I think I am fed up with the constant litigiousness that has gripped our country which makes tragedies like this appear frivolous in the light of the settlement.

I'm sorry she died, no question about it, but I guess I don't understand how she got to be as old as she was without knowing about electrolyte imbalance and its potential to kill.

[Zodiak]

26. For biology-minded people like us

Those kinds of lessons stick.

For people who are not intrested in biology or health, they may not run across these references. I am a trained biologist, but only heard about water toxicity in college. She was only 28 and a mother of three...I cannot assume she was not in college or studying biology, but it seems unlikely.

Her health class in high school might have covered electrolytes, but I am pretty sure she was not taught the effect of overloading the system with solvent (instead of the electrolytes).

[Midlodemocrat]

29. And you may be right.

But I remember my pediatrician warning me about the danger of giving my infants too much water because of hyponatremia, and I would *think* that was standard practice.

I am probably wrong about that, though. My pediatrician was one in a million, may he rest in peace.

[Zodiak]

33. I have no children

so I cannot speak from that experience. Just my take on the educational aspect.

[InvisibleTouch]

37. Well, to be honest...

...I'm a biologist by educational background as well, and I don't consider myself stupid or generally uninformed, and this was totally news to me, that one could die by drinking too much water. I've always been pounded with the opposite - we should all drink more than we do, we're all borderline dehydrated in our modern society, etc. There are entire books on the subject - for instance this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Bodys-Many-Cries-Water/dp/0962994235/sr=1-1/qid=1169226598/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5512430-4778318?ie=UTF8&s=books

I figured any excess would just pass right through. But given that the point was to not let it pass through - well, that's one problem already. And in retrospect, the effect on electrolytes seems obvious, but I think you'd have to have some experience in a sports field to know about that - and I have no background in sports at all. The point is, I think, that if a situation is set up by the media, the contestants automatically trust that it's not life-threatening, even if it's uncomfortable. The blame lies with those who set up the contest, not those who entered it.

[Zodiak]

38. Thank you very much for your post, InvisibleTouch

It is not like I had a week-long lesson on the issue....just something mentioned in my Anatomy and Physiology 101 Class. I would consider myself equally as educated if it was never mentioned in class and I just learned about it because of this one incident.

Your post is an excellent example of that and an excellent refutation to the post below where someone muses that "it doesn't take a rocket scientist for her to figure out that drinking water and holding her pee was bad for her (paraphrased)".

The blame lies with the station running the contest. There is a reasonsble expectation of not dying when one agrees to enter a contest at a radio station.

[InvisibleTouch]

42. An undergrad professor of mine...

...while talking about the trace minerals and nutrients we all need, emphasized that too much of even an essential nutrient will be toxic - his specific quote that sticks in my mind all these years later was, "I could kill you if I cram enough salt down your throat." Sure, makes sense. We need some amount of salt, sugar, and fat to survive, but too much leads to health problems. Vitamin A and E are toxic in overdoses. And so forth. All things in moderation, as the Greeks used to say. But water would seem to be the most innocuous substance there is. Believe me, if that prof had also said "I could kill you if I make you drink 2 gallons of water in 4 hours," that also would have stuck in my mind. But he didn't.

[Zodiak]

44. Most do not mention that

but yes, you flood the system with solvents and suddenly all of the electrolytes are too diluted to be in balance with the intracellular electrolytes. The net effect is hyperosmosis of the cells and a shutdown of ion-channel-dependent physiological functions (like nervous tissue).

Most get the electrolyte lesson in terms of solutes, not solvents, as you did.

[Marie26]

31. Not everyone knows that

I never knew that over-drinking water could kill you, and I'm not a moron. It seems a bit callous to blame the person who died because they didn't know some physiology fact. It was the radio station's responsibility to check on the possible dangers before staging such a reckless stunt. And it now looks like they did know, based on the nurse's call, & their jokes about fraternity deaths, which makes them all the more responsible.

[Midlodemocrat]

32. But surely, at some juncture, she must have realized that

drinking tons of water and not urinating were not good for her.

I'm not trying to be callous, here. I just think she wanted the Wii too badly.

[Marie26]

34. I'm sure she wanted it badly

Her kids had probably been begging for one for months. And that's probably what was foremost in her mind. There's a big difference between "not good for you" and "will kill you." Most radio stunts aren't "good" for the contestants (eating contests, etc.) but no radio station should ever do a stunt that would kill a contestant. I'm sorry, I'm not going to condemn a woman for not knowing something like that - the radio station had the responsibility to clear this stunt beforehand. And if the DJ's continued, knowing the danger contestants faced, they might well have committed negligent homicide.

[Pithlet]

39. I did not know until recently that drinking too much water could kill you.

Especially not in the manner that poor woman died. I'm no slouch in the mental department.

And even if I were a moron, and this were common knowledge, radio stations do not have the right to put people, even stupid people, in danger of their lives without putting in safeguards and ensure as much as they can that every precaution is taken, and that the participants are aware of the dangers involved. Just signing a waver and laughing off the danger when it is pointed out goes nowhere near enough. They didn't even have the basics, like a medical personnel present to evaluate the contestants and follow up on them, or an ambulance waiting nearby, like any responsible entity sponsoring a dangerous event. Whatever the woman knew or didn't know, THEY knew, and they laughed it off and thought a waver would protect them. They're going to find out how wrong they are.

[Zodiak]

40. A good point about the ambulance

When I played pee-wee football we had an ambulance at the games...just in case. It seems to be somewhat of a standard practice when a danger is present at an event run by professionals, but I admit I do not know details as to how one gets an "on call" ambulance.

I don't know...this whole story really upset me. There is something very wrong with this level of exploitation and something even more wrong with blaming the victim for it. Perhaps this is compounded by the fact that that poor boy who had been raped for four years was blamed for his victimization, as well.

[ThomCat]

18. Personal responsibility is one thing.

But if we depend on it exclusively, like republicans want everyone to, then we end up in a situation where the less intelligent, less educated, or just less aware are somehow valid targets and victims. I can't buy into that.

That radio station had a responsibility to not harm anyone. If that woman didn't realize she was in danger, that doesn't absolve the radio station of responsibility.

[Zodiak]

22. That's the part that bothers me

People should not be victimized because they are stupid, trusting, weak, poor, etc.

I see the term "personal responsibility" used too much nowadays to excuse the behavior of unscrupulous opportunists, con-men, and blood-letting corporations. Blaming the victim should not be a default position, especially for liberals.

[Midlodemocrat]

24. I agree. They shouldn't be victimized.

But, this was a contest. She didn't die because of a faulty landlord or something of that ilk.

I honestly don't understand how she got to be her age with three kids and had no knowledge of the way the human body works.

Not blaming her, not at all. I'm sorry she's dead and I'm sorry for the pain her family is undergoing.

I just wonder at which point we will draw the line and say 'enough'. What you did was stupid. All the way around.

[Pithlet]

41. If this had been a jump out of a plane without a parachute contest

You'd have a point. But I can see the average person thinking that your body would have some sort of defense against this sort of thing happening, because this isn't the most common or widely known way of dying, because you have to drink an extreme amount of water in a short period of time. If someone wanted to actually use this as a method to kill themselves, they'd probably have a hard time doing it. It never occurred to me that a person could drink themselves to death with water until I read an article about it in a running magazine. I don't think this woman had to be an idiot to participate in this contest.

[Midlodemocrat]

51. Reasonable points.

But, do you think that drinking and not urinating is healthy? When your children were born, didn't the doctor instruct you to make sure they had wet diapers several times a day?

I guess this is where I am disconnected. I can't imagine a person believing that drinking and NOT peeing weren't unhealthy.

And, I am sorry she died. I truly am. And the radio station is to blame as well. But, I can't help feeling that her desire for that 'toy' overtoke her common sense.

[Pithlet]

53. No, of course I don't think it's healthy.

But it doesn't logically follow that a person could sit down and in a matter of hours drink themselves to the point that they die just because it's unhealthy, if you didn't know that it could happen. I'm also not sure that the average person would think it all that harmful to do for a short period of time. Due to all the "Drink lots of water, it's good for you! Dehydration is bad, bad, bad!" messages we've heard in the media and from many fitness experts, I'm not surprised it didn't occur to her that this was at all dangerous. And there are certainly enough silly, embarrassing but safe stunts along the same order that there was no real reason for her to think that this wasn't just another one of those. I'm just not sure that common sense would always lead every lay person to come to the conclusion that this was dangerous, especially with all the hydrate yourself hype. She probably thought this would be good for a laugh and she might get a highly coveted but hard to find toy for her kids.

[Midlodemocrat]

54. You're probably right.

In grad school, I treated a young woman who had bought into the whole drink water, drink water thing and she was essentially killing herself with her repeated electrolyte imbalance.

I don't want to appear heartless. I do think this was a stupid stunt on the part of the radio station and I can't believe that their legal team/regulatory allowed it.

I guess I'm just surprised that it went this far.

[Pithlet]

55. I don't think you're heartless.

Sometimes people do die because they did something stupid, and there's nothing wrong with pointing out that they were stupid, and it doesn't mean you don't feel bad that they died. Don't worry, I never thought you didn't feel bad. You've never seemed like a heartless person to me at all. Quite the opposite.

[BoneDaddy]

19. I agree to a point

as I first learned about water intoxication as a high school student many years ago. But for the radio station to sponser such a contest places them in a very very culpable legal position.

[Midlodemocrat]

21. And I agree with you about that.

As a healthcare professional, I personally knew about water intoxication and its potential to kill.

And, maybe because of that, I am wondering where this woman's head was?

And, another question I would like an answer to is where was the due diligence of the radio station? Where was regulatory or the legal team? Isn't that THEIR job?

Stupid all the way around, frankly.

[BoneDaddy]

30. agreed

I like to look at accountability as concentric circles, starting with the individual and moving outward, encompassing family, friends, community, nation, world. Sure she was accountable in that she should have paid attention to her body. I am sure she went through some serious pain and discomfort at some point and should have dropped out, but most certainly the radio station is responsible in that they should have done the research before hand. They had warnings, first hand observation of the suffering of the people and even their own people suspected this could be dangerous.

[LostinVA]

56. As a runner, I know all about it, too

And learned the basics many years ago in a health class in high school.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BoneDaddy]

16. The more I hear about this contest

the more culpable the radio station is. They deliberately ignored concerns from a caller who was a nurse, and even the female host "Trish the Dish" commented that water poisoning could occur.

What a shame, what a loss.

[izzybeans]

17. This is stupidity and tragedy. I don't see the bigotry.

I think you are right to point out that these "zoo crew" morning jackasses are emblematic of an aspect of American culture that no one here likes.

I'm not sure what the connection to bigotry is. And I do think Borat deserves better than being lumped in with these jackasses (though the term douchebag could have been used for comic relief).

[CoffeeCat]

25. This incident IS an example of a macro problem...

...with the entire human race.

My husband and I were discussing an article he recently read. Basically, the article said that human
beings--as a species are becoming more self-focused and turned inward. Gone are the days when our
best and brightest chose to work for NASA. Now, the talented work for game companies and companies
that make high-tech gadgets.

People go where the money is, and the person who makes it possible to have virtual sex with Naomi Campbell--will
be the next gazillionaire. No one is excited about funding a mission to Mars or exploring beyond the end of our
own noses.

Our society is turning inward--and focused on satisfying ourselves and our most basic instincts. We're like animals
with loads of technology. We've evolved technologically--but not spiritually or emotionally. Neanderthals with
iPods.

There's little or no space exploration, and those who dare to question the universe or "something bigger than ourselves"
are vilified. We've lost our creativity. We've lost our sense of curiosity. We're hell bent on adding on three-seasoned
porches and buying the best video games and the biggest flat-panels--so we can cocoon in our houses. Front porches have been
replaced by four-walled back porches and we barely know our neighbors. We're obsessed with granite counter tops, the mall,
wood flooring and "home improvement" when we're doing very little to improve ourselves.

We've completely turned inward as a species, and this Nintendo Wii episode clearly is one glaring illustration of that.

We're decaying as a society and I don't see us lasting too much longer.

[greyl]

45. No, humans aren't the problem.

Our culture is the problem.
Care to share that article?

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. This woman died due to her own lack of common sense

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that drinking a large quantity of liquid and not urinating is not a good idea.

[Zodiak]

35. I do not understand why you focus

solely on the victim. Surely you must admit the the station is legally culpable for staging this event and continuing the event in the face of its potential dangers.

[TimeChaser]

43. That wasn't why she died

She didn't die from holding in her urine. She died from drinking a lot of water, which screwed up the balance of electrolytes in her system. Not a lot of people know that you can die that way.

[Zodiak]

46. It was probably a combination

The kidneys can filter out a lot of water fairly quickly, but once everything fills up (bladder, ureter, and calyx), water stops moving across nephrons and can no longer be removed from the system. Her body, though force of will, lost its ability to regain homeostasis.

It all relies on osmosis. Water does not move when the water potential on both sides of a membrane are the same. That what a backed-up urinary system will do. The article does not mention the exacerbating effect of holding one's pee, but I promise you that it is there. It prolonged the length of time in which her cells were exposed to osmotic stress, which is time- and severity-dependent.

[Pithlet]

50. Not only that, but it's not exactly easy to kill yourself that way.

It's such an extreme, unusual condition. Many of the people who die from it are actually done in when the medical professional treating them mistakes their symptoms for dehydration and put in an IV, administering even more fluids. This has happened to beginner marathon runners, for example. If it were such a common problem that was common knowledge for lay people, then fewer medical professionals would make that mistake. Many of them will probably go through their entire career and never see anyone in this condition.

[Midlodemocrat]

52. But had she urinated, she would have passed enough of the water

to prevent hyponatremia, which is untimately what water intoxication is.

[WI_DEM]

47. that radio station will soon be out of business

[porphyrian]

57. Who is really to blame? The stupid people who hold contests like this...

...or the people stupid enough to participate in them? Who is ultimately responsible for someone's actions?

[yardwork]

58. Locking

Can't we all just get along?