Exploding Office Gas-Lift Chairs: A Terrible Way To Go?

[blessmycottonsocks]

Even since the invention of the gas-lift adjustable office chair, there have been rumours of high-pressure gas leaks rupturing the occupant's intestines or, worst still, the entire gas cylinder exploding and shooting upwards like some anally-targeted torpedo.

But is this merely another urban myth?

Well apparently, there have been at least three such incidents - all reported in China:

https://www.asiaone.com/woman-badly-injured-exploding-computer-chair

Set against the background of millions of such chairs in use around the world, that doesn't seem particularly worrying odds, but it's something to ponder next time you plonk yourself down heavily on your office chair!

 

[Tunn11]

I remember something similar from an old FT but involving a bedspring. IIRC the guy it happened to said that it hurt but what was worse was that all his friends now called him Zebedee.*

*You'll have to be old enough to remember "The Magic Roundabout".

 

[Eyespy]

It is a thing
I personally know of two incidents where the hydraulic support on office type chairs has malfunctioned. One was an expolosion upwards, which miraculously did not physically injure the young man sitting on it. Shortly after this the Brish Standard for office furniture was revised to include a metal plate in the base of the chair over the top of the stem.
The other one was a collapse of the hydraulic stem which allegedly caused physical injury and stress. I say allegedly as there were no witnesses and the incident report was a bit suspect.
The individual involved was quite well built and worked at home ( this s before it became normal) , they also had a few other issues with work all of which may have been factors.

 

[Eyespy]

Thought I’d give this a bump as I was recently asked about any potential problems with buying very very cheap “office chairs “ . All I can say is check and double check against the standard and try one out.

 

[kamalktk]

It seems like one shouldn't cheap out on a product they will be spending 40 hours a week or so using.

/same advice for keyboards, mice, and monitors

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

And I've recently invested in a "dropper" seat-post for my mountain bike, that works on the same principle.
That's got me slightly worried now next time I bump my rear-end on it after a brutal downhill.

 

[escargot]

I remember something similar from an old FT but involving a bedspring. IIRC the guy it happened to said that it hurt but what was worse was that all his friends now called him Zebedee.*

*You'll have to be old enough to remember "The Magic Roundabout".

There was a Strange Death report in t'mag about a man who became impaled on a spring that popped out of his mattress.
The end of the spring pierced his anus and pinned him to the bed so he couldn't move and he starved to death.

 

[Mythopoeika]

There was a Strange Death report in t'mag about a man who became impaled on a spring that popped out of his mattress.
The end of the spring pierced his anus and pinned him to the bed so he couldn't move and he starved to death.

Yikes! What a way to die.
Years ago, I had a spring break on a mattress and the pointy broken end poked me in the back. I wondered what was happening when I woke up in the morning. Thankfully for me, nothing bad happened. But for a long time now, I've used only foam mattresses.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Not long ago, I saw a video where some guys rigged a bicycle to catch out thieves. A few nicked the bike, got on it and the seat gave way exposing them to a brutal lesson of the effect of gravity and a thick, solid chrome tube.
The funny walks after were a great punchline.

 

[escargot]

Not long ago, I saw a video where some guys rigged a bicycle to catch out thieves. A few nicked the bike, got on it and the seat gave way exposing them to a brutal lesson of the effect of gravity and a thick, solid chrome tube.
The funny walks after were a great punchline.

I LOVE those videos.
How about the one with the long concealed chain?
The thieves can get quite a speed up on that downhill slope.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Not long ago, I saw a video where some guys rigged a bicycle to catch out thieves. A few nicked the bike, got on it and the seat gave way exposing them to a brutal lesson of the effect of gravity and a thick, solid chrome tube.
The funny walks after were a great punchline.

Owww, that's gotta hurt...

 

[JamesWhitehead]

a brutal lesson of the effect of gravity and a thick, solid chrome tube.

Here is one video I found, as I was dying to witness this!

I am never sure how genuine these things are: videos could be used against the makers, as evidence of malicious intent towards the perps.

"He made me suffer a shared rectal-tube without consent!"

Maybe a condom on it would show greater compassion!

 

[Mythopoeika]

Here is one video I found, as I was dying to witness this!

Never quite sure how genuine these things are or whether they could be turned on the makers as evidence of malicious intent towards the perps.

"He made me suffer a shared rectal-tube without consent!"

Maybe a condom on it would show greater compassion!

It could be deemed to be illegal, the way things have gone with the legal system here and in the USA.
'You laid a trap for an unsuspecting, innocent criminal who was just going about their rightful business...'