Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Of all the cartoons we have done so far, this one gives me the shudders every time I think about it. Maybe it is because this one could actually happen to any one of us. So what’s the big deal about a pool drain?
Well, let me describe what happens in terms we can all understand. First, you need to know that a pool drain is often a pipe 12 inches in diameter. That is not your bathroom sink drain!
Now let’s think of the water in the pipe as a little freight train. That freight train is really long, and it is going really fast. You have the misfortune of jumping right in the middle of the train as it is rushing past. Instead of just bashing you to a pulp like a real train would do, it sucks really hard on whatever is sitting on the drain. It squeezes you though the drain like a martini through a drink strainer. For just a moment you look down and see your skeleton sitting on the drain, completely cleaned of all your flesh. I told you this would make your shudder.
In real life, pools always have two drains far enough apart that you cannot sit on both of them at once. But as you see in this cartoon, the ninja accidentally covers one of the drains with his stolen goods, and all the force of the water is transferred to the other drain where he sits.
At least this cartoon is not bloody like all our other ones. Oh, wait, the water is about to be recirculated. Only, its red all of a sudden! Sleep well, and stay out of the pool’s deep end.
Mark Robison, PE
