Saturday, March 10, 2012

Man calls 911 after playing angry birds on the toilet

Emergency services in Yankton, South Dakota were called to assist a man who was trapped in his bathroom and unable to free himself. When police officers arrived at the scene, they found the man lying on the bathroom floor next to a laptop computer and clutching his cellphone.
'Logging on' to the internet

Slap the Penguin was told that Paul Merkin, 28, had been sitting on the toilet for a number of hours, checking email, tweeting and playing angry birds. His lack of movement caused his legs to fall asleep and when he tried to stand up, he fell straight back down to the floor, unable to get up. This was when Merkin called 911 from his cellphone.

Merkin was taken by ambulance to Avera Sacred Heart hospital in Yankton, and was later released with no permanent injuries.

We spoke to Dr. Anil Fisher at Sacred Heart regarding the dangers of sitting on the toilet for an extended period of time. "This is a typical case of what can happen when you sit still for any length of time, not just on a toilet but on any firm seat. The circulation of the blood becomes restricted and the muscles start to shut down and when you stand the muscles are not able to respond correctly."

"However, there are other inherent dangers of sitting on the toilet for longer than is necessary. Hemorrhoids can occur with extended toilet sitting, especially if you have completed your daily motion and are just reading the paper or doing the crossword. Also a number of bowel infections can begin, as well as prolonged anal bleeding and future difficulties emptying the bowel."

A recent study in the UK found that more than a third (34%) of those polled said they had sent a text message while on the toilet, 33% admitted they had conducted a telephone conversation and 7% revealed they had searched the internet, but would not reveal what they searched for.

The same study uncovered that men are twice as likely to spend additional time doing other things on the toilet than women, with reading being the most popular distraction.

As electronics become evermore portable, they are replacing the traditional newspaper as the favored method of passing time on the potty, but there is one way that an iPhone can never replace the good old fashioned newspaper in the bathroom.

Newspaper 1 - 0 iPhone
We have created a poll to find out what our readers get up to on the potty. Are you business only or do you take your smartphone with you?







148964_Primary

2 comments :

Janene said...

Whoa. More than a little embarrassing. Talk about being caught with your pants dow!

Andy said...

Who takes a laptop with them when they use the restroom? That guy needs to get a life

Most viewed pages (last 30 days)

Slap the Penguin, more than just a satirical news blog

.