Vaping story on this evening's NBC Nightly News?

[beckdg]

As a kid, we were encouraged to "test" 9 volt batteries by touching them to our tongues. The message most of us get from this is that batteries are perfectly safe. In 45 years, I never once heard about any actual danger from batteries, other than alkalines exploding because someone tried to charge them, and the laptop and cell phone batteries that were recalled (so the message we got from that is clearly they were flawed.) So yes, the general the public thinks all batteries are safe except for ones that are flawed.

And the message you got from that is your batteries will never be flawed?

Cause other than that, I fail to understand the rationale.

Either way, the logic is flawed.

In a nutshell you just said "we've been shown there's a potential for danger, so our conclusion; there's nothing to be concerned with".

As a young child, the first time I saw a nicad pop and spew blue gray acidic, chemical ooze, I needed no more warning.

I must have been 6 to 8 yrs old.

To me, it's that obvious. Doesn't take a fully developed adult brain.

Tapatyped

 

[Sir Kadly]

And the message you got from that is your batteries will never be flawed?

Cause other than that, I fail to understand the rationale.

Either way, the logic is flawed.

In a nutshell you just said "we've been shown there's a potential for danger, so our conclusion; there's nothing to be concerned with".

As a young child, the first time I saw a nicad pop and spew blue gray acidic, chemical ooze, I needed no more warning.

I must have been 6 to 8 yrs old.

To me, it's that obvious. Doesn't take a fully developed adult brain.

Tapatyped

No, most people have been taught there IS NO danger, that is my point. I have never seen a battery vent, explode, catch fire, anything of that nature and I don't know anyone that has. By teaching us that it is OK to touch a battery to your tongue, they were teaching us batteries were safe instead of dangerous.

I fail to see where in my statement I stated that we were shown that batteries could short out and vent/catch fire/explode/etc by allowing them to come into contact with a conducter, because we were actually taught just the opposite by the whole 9 volt thing.

 

[beckdg]

alkalines exploding because someone tried to charge them, and the laptop and cell phone batteries that were recalled

No, most people have been taught there IS NO danger, that is my point

Do you see my confusion here?

Tapatyped

 

[MyMagicMist]

And the message you got from that is your batteries will never be flawed?

Cause other than that, I fail to understand the rationale.

Either way, the logic is flawed.

In a nutshell you just said "we've been shown there's a potential for danger, so our conclusion; there's nothing to be concerned with".

As a young child, the first time I saw a nicad pop and spew blue gray acidic, chemical ooze, I needed no more warning.

I must have been 6 to 8 yrs old.

To me, it's that obvious. Doesn't take a fully developed adult brain.

Tapatyped

I think I may understand the logic a bit. Not saying I do, or that I quite agree. Let me run it by you though and see if we locate understanding.

I know there exists a potential for any other human being, yourself included, to kill me. Should I knowing that lay awake nights worried you, or anyone else is creeping toward my home to invade and kill me?

No one can live life paralyzed by fear. Attempting to live life paralyzed by fear is not life or living, it is only death.

So, I can comprehend not being gravely concerned over the potential for anything to happen. After all there exists the same equal potential it may not happen.

"No man ever steps in the same river twice" -- Heraclitus of Ephesus

It is the same river it was yesterday, sure. The water flowing through the river today is new though, ergo it is not the same river. The way up is also the way down. Potential exist for A just as it exists for B. Potential for Positive exists the same as existing for Negative, to really throw in a wrench that same potential also exists for Neutral. What exists also does not exist.

In short, yes we need to be responsible and safe with batteries. We also have to admit that what will be, will be. Not trying to plumb deeply into the philosophical or metaphysical here, sometimes a bowl of beans is a bowl of beans. Are you going to eat them? If not, I will.

Again, also not saying I fully understand the logic or endorse it either. In some respects I may find a middle ground though.

 

[roxynoodle]

As a college student I worked as a waitress. One of my regular customers was severely burned and scarred from an exploding car battery. I mean he looked like Freddy Kruegar, that bad. He did not have visible ears, no hair, half his nose was gone. His head, neck and arms were fully scarred. Not long after that I saw a car battery catch on fire and explode. Those incidents gave me great respect for handling batteries.

 

[Sir Kadly]

Do you see my confusion here?

Tapatyped

In the minds of most people, who have never been taught to respect batteries, those aren't cases of batteries being dangerous, those are cases of
1. people being stupid and trying to recharge non-rechargeable batteries
2. batteries in electronics being dangerous because companies tried to save a few bucks (in other words, the assumption that if the battery wasn't flawed there would be no danger, also many people think those are special batteries, whereas a cylindrical battery is a normal battery)

Again, we are taught when we are young that putting batteries in our mouths is fine, so the vast majority of people have no reason to think that putting them in our pockets isn't.

 

[Bad Ninja]

In the minds of most people, who have never been taught to respect batteries, those aren't cases of batteries being dangerous, those are cases of
1. people being stupid and trying to recharge non-rechargeable batteries
2. batteries in electronics being dangerous because companies tried to save a few bucks (in other words, the assumption that if the battery wasn't flawed there would be no danger, also many people think those are special batteries, whereas a cylindrical battery is a normal battery)

Again, we are taught when we are young that putting batteries in our mouths is fine, so the vast majority of people have no reason to think that putting them in our pockets isn't.

Unless they dropped out of school early, this was covered in 8th grade science when we learned how batteries work and store energy.

If a grown adult can't apply that logic to the real world, the fault isn't with the manufacturer.

Life requires adults to pay attention.

 

[Sir Kadly]

Unless they dropped out of school early, this was covered in 8th grade science when we learned how batteries work and store energy.

Except that as I already said, for many of us it wasn't. Just because you learned it in school doesn't mean everyone did. I believe that the vast majority of adults (at least in the US, don't know what is taught elsewhere) were never taught by anyone anywhere that batteries, even something as common as AA's, needed to be handled in certain ways for safety. I don't believe it is obvious to most people, and I don't believe you should expect people to "apply that logic to the real world" when they were never taught anything other than "stick a battery in your mouth, it's safe" Obviously my experience is different than yours and beck's, so we will have to agree to disagree.

 

[ReigntheGamer]

Except that as I already said, for many of us it wasn't. Just because you learned it in school doesn't mean everyone did. I believe that the vast majority of adults (at least in the US, don't know what is taught elsewhere) were never taught by anyone anywhere that batteries, even something as common as AA's, needed to be handled in certain ways for safety. I don't believe it is obvious to most people, and I don't believe you should expect people to "apply that logic to the real world" when they were never taught anything other than "stick a battery in your mouth, it's safe" Obviously my experience is different than yours and beck's, so we will have to agree to disagree.

Umm when I stuck my tongue to a battery it taught me that if you complete a circuit with a body part it's not comfortable.

And if you do so with a power source larger than a 9v it's going to hurt more.

 

[beckdg]

In the minds of most people, who have never been taught to respect batteries, those aren't cases of batteries being dangerous, those are cases of
1. people being stupid and trying to recharge non-rechargeable batteries
2. batteries in electronics being dangerous because companies tried to save a few bucks (in other words, the assumption that if the battery wasn't flawed there would be no danger, also many people think those are special batteries, whereas a cylindrical battery is a normal battery)

Again, we are taught when we are young that putting batteries in our mouths is fine, so the vast majority of people have no reason to think that putting them in our pockets isn't.

So it's completely acceptable and excusable for an adult to see the following images and not relate them to inherent danger that demands a certain respect / level of care...

Because they got shocked by a 9V battery that produces this...

Tapatyped

 

[LilWhiteClouder]

Here's the clip from NBC Nightly News.

"An ecigarette battery is to blame..." Hold on, so now batteries are ecig batteries. Whether or not the guy was going to use the battery in an ecig, when the ..... put it in his pocket it was not in any device. Why do they feel the need to include ecig. It was a loose battery! This is terrible reporting with an agenda. It's a battery. It exploded because this guy was careless. Plain an simple.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Except that as I already said, for many of us it wasn't. Just because you learned it in school doesn't mean everyone did. I believe that the vast majority of adults (at least in the US, don't know what is taught elsewhere) were never taught by anyone anywhere that batteries, even something as common as AA's, needed to be handled in certain ways for safety. I don't believe it is obvious to most people, and I don't believe you should expect people to "apply that logic to the real world" when they were never taught anything other than "stick a battery in your mouth, it's safe" Obviously my experience is different than yours and beck's, so we will have to agree to disagree.

If you went to school in the US you were taught this information. We all were.
I cannot make excuses for someone not paying attention, or applying basic knowledge that was given to them.

We cannot idiot-proof adult life.

 

[haleysdadda]

After reading this thread, and doing some reading from articles brought up by Google search - Battery explodes in pocket.....

I am giving up on the Majority of the human race........... Obviously Common Sense does not exist in most and they only see - I didn't know and I'm Sueing...... as Reality

Those of us with a lick of sense may as well start digging in now.

I fully believe that any human that has any sense at all is from a completely different species than people! I prefer to call us mutants! Because as mutants our brains have either not have gotten as smoothe as people's seem to have or we have actually increased the texture of our brains or maybe a bit of both!

If you went to school in the US you were taught this information. We all were.
I cannot make excuses for someone not paying attention, or applying basic knowledge that was given to them.

We cannot idiot-proof adult life.

And there is no reason to idiot-proof adult mutant life!

 

[Steamix]

...
I do agree with him on the point that every vape shop that sells batteries should also sell protective cases, and should explain to customers why they need the protective case.
...

I'd go one further :

Make it mandatory to sell batteries only within a protective case. Plus a sticker on it, informing about safety.
Maybe even a QR code linking a clip of a battery cooking off.
Additional costs would amount to a few cents more.

I know, some may argue that I'm promoting regulations 'n all that. Stuff that we're fighting to avoid in the first place.

But:

As long as clueless kids with no inclination whatsoever to learn the basics in safety walk into a B&M and ask the staff there to wrap for them a 0.01 ohm so that they can "make heap big clouds", it will need someone to tell them that safety starts with them.

Also might help heading off any greedy ambulance chasers feeding off stupid behaviour and thus depriving ANTZ of ammunition...

 

[catlady60]

People are sometimes so much devoid of common sense that batt manufacturers ought to put out a warning on the batteries: Do not put in pocket.

 

[crxess]

All that would be required is a Battery Positive post cap.

 

[sincerelysasquatch]

I was never taught anything about battery safety. I had never heard of a battery exploding until all this stuff about e-cigs, so it is all news to me. I didn't know they could blow up. Call me stupid or whatever, but I think a lot of people are in a similar situation. I honestly had never even heard of a laptop or phone blowing up, although now I know they can. I had heard a little bit about batteries malfunctioning but I thought they'd just like get hot and burn a bit, I didn't realize they could actually like blow off parts of your face.

 

[Bad Ninja]

I was never taught anything about battery safety. I had never heard of a battery exploding until all this stuff about e-cigs, so it is all news to me. I didn't know they could blow up. Call me stupid or whatever, but I think a lot of people are in a similar situation. I honestly had never even heard of a laptop or phone blowing up, although now I know they can. I had heard a little bit about batteries malfunctioning but I thought they'd just like get hot and burn a bit, I didn't realize they could actually like blow off parts of your face.

If I handed you a metal bar and told you to touch it to both posts on your car battery, I doubt you would.

You had the knowledge, just didn't apply it to the situation.

 

[r77r7r]

I look at a lawnmower blade, I realize that I need to be careful. I look at a battery- don't look scary to me.

 

[jensy]

I think my answer to that question from now on will be.. "The ones that blow up are the ones owned by fools"

You should just tell people that "No they are the exspensive ones and you can't afford those. It's just the cheap uneventful ones that you use" and see what they say.