Need a Great Halloween Safety Product? Try the GLOWSTORM!

There are some pretty horrifying statistics out there regarding the safety of trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Everyone here at All Weather Whistle recognizes this, and so are more than thrilled to introduce our newest product, aimed at keeping all the little ghosts, goblins, and ne-er-do-wells SAFE on Halloween: the Glowstorm!

Pretty cool, right? I've been carrying around a prototype of the Glowstorm for a few years now, and it makes finding your keys in the bottom of your purse incredibly easy. And I just always thought glow-in-the-dark things were totally neat-o.

The press release is below, if anyone's interested. You can buy it both through Amazon OR through our website!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

AMERICAN INVENTOR ILLUMINATES HALLOWEEN SAFETY

Dr. Howard Wright Launches a New Glow-in-the-Dark Whistle in time for Halloween

St. Louis, Missouri: To children, Halloween means dark and scary costumes, free candy, and the one night in the year when they’re encouraged to ring the doorbells of strangers. But to their parents, Halloween is a much scarier time. As the father of three children, inventor Dr. Howard Wright also knows the anxiety of Halloween, and has just released a brand-new product to alleviate those fears: a glow-in-the-dark safety whistle. “As a father, I remember the anxiety I felt watching my children scurry out of the house on Halloween night. I wanted something to help me both visibly and audibly help keep track of my children. That’s when the idea of the Glowstorm came to mind.”

Dr. Wright successfully took his patented, award-winning Windstorm whistle design and constructed it in high-impact, phosphorescent plastic, complete with a safety coil to secure the whistle conveniently to the child’s wrist. The glow-in-the-dark whistles are made from a phosphorescence plastic that is completely non-toxic and non-flammable, and are able to safely glow in the dark due to simple physics: energy in the form of visible light is absorbed by the phosphorescent material, and is then released very slowly.

The Glowstorm retains all of the qualities of the Windstorm, including easy-to-grasp ridges, a size small enough to easily fit in a child’s hand, and a maximum volume of 110 decibels. The Glowstorm can also be heard up to fifty feet underwater, just like every whistle manufactured by All Weather Safety Whistle Company.

While Halloween is an incredibly exciting time for a child, it can also be a dangerous one. With the Glowstorm whistle, your child will not only have a safety device at hand should he need to attract attention, but will also be more visible at night with a Glowstorm whistle hanging from their wrist. “Halloween should be an exciting and frightening time for children, but never for their parents. My Glowstorm whistle is the perfect Halloween safety device—children love carrying the Glowstorm, and parents love the peace of mind.

Glowstorm whistles can be purchased exclusively from the All Weather Whistle Company, either through their website (www.stormwhistles.com), or through a search on Amazon.com

ABOUT:  The All Weather Safety Whistle Company was founded in 1988 by Dr. Howard Wright as the manufacturers of the Storm Whistle, the loudest whistle in the world. The smaller, Windstorm whistle is compact enough to be easily gripped, has a maximum volume of 110 decibels, and can be heard up to fifty feet underwater. They are manufactured from high-impact plastic at Koller-Craft Industries in St. Louis, Missouri, and packaged at Lafayette Industries, a local, non-profit affirmative industry. For more information, please visit www.stormwhistles.com.

Contact: Jessica Wright, Marketing Director

jwright (at) stormwhistles dot com

Senior Dog Safety

This is a bit of a random post, but a Storm Whistle customer brought this article to my attention earlier today:

Has Your Senior Dog Started to Lose His Hearing?: Five Things to Do When Your Dog Starts Losing His Hearing

I never thought about how perilous the loss of this sense was to dogs. In the article, Ms. Miller discusses how older dogs should be carefully monitored, as interactions with busy streets, bicycles, and even other dogs can turn dangerous very quickly.

And (hooray!), Ms. Miller also mentions the Storm Whistle as a good tool for people wanting to communicate with their hard-of-hearing dogs.

Thanks, Whole Dog Journal!

And What About Zapping Food in Plastic?

Just like storing leftover food in its tin can, I have always felt somewhat leery about microwaving food in plastic containers. I don’t know what combination of disapproving parental glances and vague newspaper headlines prompted this feeling, but I honestly hesitate before microwaving something in plastic.  But, why? What’s with the hesitation? Am I subconsciously afraid it’ll give me cancer? Or just afraid it’ll make the food taste a little strange?

Let’s figure this out.

While doing my research on BPA last week, I saw this cautionary note:

Consumer Reports is advising those who are concerned that they might be able to reduce, though not necessarily eliminate, their dietary exposure to BPA by taking the following steps:

• Choose fresh food whenever possible.
• Consider alternatives to canned food, beverages, juices, and infant formula.
• Use glass containers when heating food in microwave ovens.

In my last blogpost, I concluded that BPA from the liner is indeed able to leach into the food inside canned goods, given enough time. But is it possible for BPA to be quickly transferred into foods when heated?

Good Housekeeping disagrees. In their November 2008 issue, Good Housekeeping commissioned a study on this very question, publishing their results in the article “Is It Safe to Heat Foods in Plastic?” The scientists ultimately concluded that, despite the presence of BPA in some of the plastic products, “[n]o detectable BPA or phthalates migrated from the products into the simulants.”

So, while some plastic containers DO contain BPA, the heating process itself won’t transfer BPA to the food—but if the plastic container in question actually melts while in the microwave, thereby mixing IN WITH THE FOOD and contaminating it, then you’ve got another problem entirely. 

The United States Department of Agriculture says:

Plastic storage containers such as margarine tubs, take-out containers, whipped topping bowls, and other one-time use containers should not be used in microwave ovens. These containers can warp or melt, possibly causing harmful chemicals to migrate into the food.

The USDA concludes, therefore, that if have a plastic container that doesn’t warp or melt, then it’s safe to use in the microwave.

I don’t know if I believe it, though. I mean, sure.  Maybe BPA and phthalates aren’t getting into our food. But what if some strange, unknown chemical IS successfully leaching its way into the food—a chemical that we don’t yet have the technology to identify? 

Not to get all paranoid on everyone. But for myself personally, I might try to stick with containers made from inert materials like glass. 

Though I suppose one really can’t get too caught up in the thought that our modern technology is slowly but surely giving us cancer. It’s one thing if the evidence is there (a la our canned goods BPA conversation). But if the evidence honestly isn’t there, then that’s that. Sure, in fifty years we’ll probably find out that every time we microwaved plastic, we created an evil space-gremlin—but for now, unless the plastic is actually melting into our food, we’re probably fine.

Some BPA With Your Soup?

 I was researching lead poisoning for a potential blogpost topic earlier this week, and I came across this pamphlet from April 2009: Lead Prevention by the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Illinois Lead Program. It gave plenty of tips for preventing lead poisoning in children—many of them I’ve heard before. But there was one tip that gave me pause:

• “Do not store food in open cans or pottery.”

What? 

That’s it. I have to get down to the bottom of this. I’ve heard varying rumors both for and against storing food in metal cans. I know this isn’t the most pressing topic, but, come on.  We’ve all wondered. We’ve all stood in front of the fridge, a half-full can of beans in hand, contemplating the risks. 

The United States Department of Agriculture has the answer, and they settle the question about storing opened canned food in the fridge for once and for all:

After opening canned foods, is it safe to refrigerate the unused food in the can?
Yes. Unused portions of canned food may be refrigerated in the can, but to preserve optimum quality and flavor, place the unused portion in a glass or plastic storage container.

This “optimum quality and flavor” is addressed further down the page:

Then there's can corrosion. In all foods, but especially in high-acid foods like canned tomatoes, natural chemicals in the food continually react with the container. Over several years, this can cause taste and texture changes, and eventually lower the nutritional value of the food.

This explains the metallic taste that acidic foods (tomatoes, pineapple) will acquire after sitting in an open can.

A metallic taste is one thing, but lead poisoning is another entirely. So, DOES canned food carry a risk of lead poisoning? The USDA says no:

Do cans contain lead?
The canned food industry in the United States stopped using lead-soldered cans in 1991. In 1995, the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule prohibiting the use of lead solder in all food cans, including imported products. Metal cans, which are made of sheet steel — sometimes with a coating of tin — are now welded closed at the seams. The inside of the can may also have an enamel or vinyl protective coating.

So, there’s that. No lead in canned goods. And as an added bonus, it appears that the canned goods corporations have solved the problem of metallic-tasting pineapples: this magical protective coating!

Yet this “magical protective coating” often contains something pretty terrifying. In late 2009, consumer watch-dog organization Consumer Report stated that over 92% of canned goods in the United States contained BPA.

Yeah. BPA. The chemical that “… mimics human hormones and has been classified as an endocrine disruptor," and “linked to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease.”

China, Malaysia, Canada, and the European Union have all banned BPA from being used in baby bottles, and while the United States has taken no federal steps regarding BPA, multiple states and municipalities have outlawed it in infant products or food packaging as well. Inspired by the ban, many people are seeking out BPA-free baby bottles and water bottles, but are unaware of the prevalence of BPA in products such as canned food.

While some manufacturers  are committed to removing BPA from their packaging, others have tried to downplay the dangers of BPA. The Coca-Cola Company, for example, tries to assuage the fears of consumers, saying in the Fox News article: 

A person weighing 135 pounds (61 kg) would need to ingest more than 14,800 12-ounce cans of a beverage in one day to approach the FDA's acceptable daily limit for BPA consumption.

Wait. BPA is in Coke cans?

I think a lawyer telling me that it would take a thousand pounds of their secret, man-made chemical for me to feel the effects doesn’t make me feel any better. I’d prefer to not have any secret, man-made chemicals at all. 

So, what to do?

A few months ago, scientists from the Breast Cancer Fund and the Silent Spring Institute performed a study on five families who regularly ingested canned food and other packaged products containing BPA. After abruptly switching each families’ diet to one of strictly fresh, organic food served in glass or stainless steel containers, 

“...their BPA levels dropped on average by 60 percent. Reductions were even more pronounced-75 percent-for those with the highest exposures. When families returned to their regular diets, their BPA levels increased back to pre-intervention levels."

So the question isn’t really “is it safe to store open canned food in the refrigerator.” The question is “are canned foods safe." They seem pretty dicey to me. I guess the only solution to this is to try and eat only fresh, organic food. And if you can’t afford organic food (like me!), just be sure to wash off the pesticides before you eat 'em!

FAQ: Who Packages the Whistles?

This doesn't actually have much to do with safety, but I thought I'd share it anyway...

Earlier today, I was forwarded an email from Lafayette Industries, the company that packages the Storm and Windstorm whistles. It has been almost twenty years and over three million whistles since we first started worked with Lafayette, so they sent over some thank-you cards. They are sincerely heartfelt, really quite touching, and answers the question that’s crossed everyone’s mind at one time or another: who packages the whistle?

Lafayette Industries is a local, non-for-profit “affirmative industry” that is dedicated to providing employment opportunities to those with disabilities.  Founded in 1975, Lafayette began with only sixteen employees, and has since expanded to two locations, employing over three hundred and fifty people.  Such “affirmative industries” are prevalent in Missouri, and currently employ 7500 people who would not normally be able to enjoy the workplace community. Lafayette Industries is dedicated to fostering this community, and hosts a variety of events through the year, including a Valentine’s Day Dance and a trip to see the Cardinals play at Busch Stadium.

Grants from the government typically only cover ten to twenty percent of the operating budget, so Lafayette Industries is left with the challenging task of generating high-quality products in order to retain their clients, while keeping the workload accessible to as many workers with disabilities as possible. By focusing on training “to increase employee’s skills, knowledge, and versatility,” Lafayette has maintained their high standards of quality, and have proved themselves to be a fiscally-responsible non-profit.

In her note accompanying the photographs, Ms. Van Berkel wrote that the All Weather Whistle Company has “provided countless hours of employment for our employees with disabilities.” Everyone here at All Weather Safety Whistle Company is proud to support non-profits in the St. Louis area, and we look forward to our next three million whistles being packaged by the lovely folks at Lafayette Industries.

Lives Saved by the Storm Whistle: Acacio Edition

On the afternoon of December 19th 2006, Jose Paulino Acacio was scuba-diving with three friends near the Berlinga Grande island, off the coast of Portugal. Around four pm, the men had surfaced, and began to swim towards the Damoisa, their rented boat. A swift rip current suddenly overtook the divers, pulling them fiercely into the depths. One companion clung to a buoy, and the other managed to scramble aboard the Damoisa. Acacio was pulled under, and did not emerge.

The Damoisa picked its way around the island of Berlinga Grande, hollering for Acacio, to no avail. The Portuguese coast guard (ISN) was called, and Jacino Neves, captain of the nearest ISN vessel, hurried to the island. He and his crew circumnavigated the island for three hours, until low fuel forced them to turn back to the port of Peniche.

Around ten-thirty that night, Neves received a call from several biologists, who had been doing research on the island of Farilhão, about six miles away from Berlinga Grande. They had heard what sounded like a whistle coming from a grotto on the shoreline. His vessel refueled, Neves hurried to Farilhão Island, where he found Acacio lying in the cave. He was blowing the Storm whistle.

Acacio was quickly transported to the hospital, where he was treated for severe hypothermia and dehydration. Despite being lost for over seven hours, the diver made a full recovery, and credited his rescue to the Storm Whistle, which supplied him with a voice when he was too weak to yell.

Pretty amazing, right? And the story dovetails perfectly with our newest podcast on rip currents.





Be careful out there, everyone!

How Exactly DO You Protect Your Phone from Hackers?

A few weeks ago, I honestly didn’t think it was possible for someone to hack into your voicemails. I mean, I carry my phone in my pocket everywhere I go—surely there isn’t some magical way that a crook (or a sleazy journalist—no offense, sleazy journalists) could break into my phone.

Well, there is a way. Apparently. So, IS there a way to keep your phone from being hacked? 

Google-ing “how to prevent someone from hacking your phone” pulls up several thousand articles, so I’ve picked them over and pulled out the best pieces of advice:

• If your password is still the default one, CHANGE IT. 

I know, I know. You’re not a celebrity or a politician or a CEO, so why bother changing your password from whatever default one the phone company gave you? I’d bother. It takes but a second, and a quick Google search will give you step-by-step directions specific to your phone.

• Some passwords are much more common than others. Crooks will try those first.

According to Business Insider, the top ten phone passwords are 1234, 0000, 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683 (spells "LOVE"), 0852, 2222, 1212, and 1998 (?).

I’d also add to this list your birthday, birth year, or address—that sounds a bit paranoid, but better to be safe than sorry. The rumor around town is that some phone companies won’t even let you program a code with only one numeral (1111, 2222, etc.), since they’re so common.

• If you notice anything suspicious, change your passcode!

By "anything suspicious," I mean not receiving messages, messages deleting themselves, etc. If a friend  just SWEARS they left you a message, but you don’t have any record of it, then someone might be messing around with your voicemails. Or your friend’s just making stuff up. One of the two.

And the last piece of advice I found was...

• You can’t. 

As John Fitzsimmons on lovemoney.com reports:

Alternatively, it is even thought the private investigators paid sources at CTI, the accounts company which held the accounts information for all the major phone companies except O2, to tell them the pins of celebrities. This is why victims like Sienna Miller - who reportedly changed her Pin hundreds of times - still got hacked.

I feel like this is increasingly becoming the answer to these safety questions. You can’t. The moral of the story is that you’re relying on a password to keep your voicemails safe. If, say, the phone companies are SELLING ACCESS TO YOUR PASSWORD, then you can change it as many times as you like, a la Sienna Miller, and be no better off. 

Be careful out there, folks--the best way to keep your voicemails entirely secure is by prompting deleting any sensitive messages.