don’t drink the water
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There is a local story here that has become nationwide and possibly further at this point, and I have been rolling it about in my brain.
There was a radio contest for a Wii system in which the contestants drank several bottles of water and held it, the longest to do so being the winner. The runner up died five hours after the contest from water intoxication. She was a 28 year old mother of three, one of whom was a baby and will not even remember her own mom. Everyone is in an outrage, and several people at the station have been fired and there is a criminal investigation now.
It is a tragic situation, and one that I am very surprised at. In 2005, a college student died from the same thing during a hazing and it kind of woke everyone up to the effects of water intoxication. He was drinking from a 5 gallon bottle, while she drank about a gallon of water. I know a bit about the radio industry from listening to a lot of talk radio, and I am aware that there are lawyers for every suggested contest that look into every detail before approving it. I don’t see how someone did not understand the danger somewhere along the way. I know that many times the DJ’s are asked to participate in contests rather than suggesting them. The anger that was directed at the morning team might not be necessary, although in the tapes played on the news they were very casual about the whole thing when the girl was obviously beginning to not feel well. I wonder if the girl even knew herself of the dangers. It is such a messy thing and I will be hearing about it on the news for some time to come, I’m sure. I don’t really know whom to blame, other than maybe everyone involved rather than just one person. It is scary though. I drink a lot of water during the day, and I think about it now. I don’t do what she did, obviously, but I still wonder at what point would it become dangerous.
EDIT: The jocks and staff have only been fired. I expect the GM to be next, as they are just as responsible for this. I listen to a radio show that was fired after a stunt, although not a fatal one. They are working again and twice as successful, so these jocks will be working again soon should their contracts allow it. I am sure that they all feel horrible about this, and that radio contests will go a different way from now on.