Padded lampposts for distracted texters being tested in London
According to a recent report, human beings are becoming so incredibly stupid that they require cushioned lamppost bases so that when they run into them they don’t mess up their idiotic faces.
Apparently, a study in the UK found that one in ten people actually managed to hurt themselves by walking into a post while peering down at their mobile phone screen.
The mishaps — called "walking and texting" injuries — have spurred the charity Living Streets to launch the padded-post-pilot scheme in Brick Lane, London.
It seems that if all goes well, there are plans to roll out the idiot-proof system in Birmingham, Manchester, and Stupidton.
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How many lamp-posts do you have to crack your skull on before you learn to watch where you are going??? And if it’s more than one, maybe you shouldn’t be walking the streets at all!
The pyromaniacs will love these, they already have great fun setting fire to the plastic bins and blowing up the phone boxes with fireworks, now they will have a new toy to play with by the look of things. They aren’t exactly aesthetically pleasing either are they?
Who on earth donates money to this charity?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=525785&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments
After reading this, I suspect we’ll find out shortly that this is a clever advertising ploy by the British text messaging company 118.com. Lots of free press. Wish I’d thought of it.
Am I alone in noticing that from certain points of approach that lamp post in the photo is still very much a risk to seeing adults who won’t take the aweseome responsibility to look ahead of themselves to see where they are going?
Really, the streets still are not safe for the poor souls who can’t be bothered to wait to text while standing or sitting.
We should consider padded cells for their safety…
Or just let evolution take its course!
When in York several summers ago, I was with a group walking along a sidewalk inside the walls. (It was in an area where there wasn’t really a distinct “curb” between the sidewalk and the street.) I wasn’t paying attention and cracked my knee right into one of those mid-thigh high posts that are commonly found all around.
OUCH! (And no, I wasn’t texting or talking on a cell phone).
You’re enjoying daft-sounding British placenames, aren’t you? ;-p (or is that British-sounding daft placenames?)
“Stupidton.” This is actually a place? Sounds more like a state of being. Well, how appropriate. I think all of Great Britain has gone Stupidton.
Just when we thought the United States has become the epitome of Nannyism, the UK just upped the ante. Padding lampposts because people are so obsessed with texting. Let them walk into them. Maybe that would knock some sense into them, and this comes from one who rather text than talk.
Well done for thinking up ‘Stupidton’ – took me several seconds to realise that this was influenced by your visit to my town of Brighton!
I prefer to think Darwinianly on this one. Natural selection in action. Incidentally, I am one of the dwindling few who have never owned a cell phone, and I am rather proud of that fact.
What I was in grade school I occasionally got injuries as I read while walking from one class to another. Sadly they have not my practice at looking over the edge of the book to see where one is going. ^_^