I've been reading some articles about this elsewhere (ABC news, Baltimore Sun, amongst other news sites), and a couple significant things should be noted: first, the contest was never cleared by the radio station's legal team. Second, the deejays never warned contestants of the danger, and in fact said the opposite (this quote from abcnews.com):
"Can you get water poisoning and, like, die?" asked the female disc jockey.
"Not with water," a male disc jockey replied. "Your body is 98 percent water. Why can't you take in as much water as you want?"
A number of people called in to warn the radio station about the health risks, and these risks were still never shared with the contestants. When Jennifer Strange was taking part in the contest, she was complaining of pain, and the deejays responded by laughing at her.
I think all of this suggests pretty clearly to me that the radio station did need to be held liable for its irresponsibility in running the contest. There was no research and no warning, and they were further to the public basically saying, "Don't worry this is perfectly safe!" when telling people to take poison.
This doesn't absolve Strange's liability for participating in the contest, but her lack of information resulted in the most final punishment possible, a far more dire punishment than she deserved (the threat of water intoxication is not common knowledge; to her it probably sounded like an easy way to get a Wii for her kids at a time (2007) when getting hold of a Wii was really hard). That the radio station was sued for a mere $16 million is a drop in the bucket comparatively speaking. But better that they be held accountable for their part in the fiasco. After all, if some public entity held a contest of "Win Russian Roulette and win a prize!" they're still being irresponsible and encouraging deadly behavior. No, someone with common sense would not participate in a contest like that, but that doesn't remove responsibility from the people encouraging the bad behavior in the first place. Neither side has to be "right" or "wrong" in a case like this.
Fuck's sake. Their last name is "strange" for a reason. It's Strange that in America, you are forced to pay stupid people money when one of their own dies for their own stupidity.
A number of people called in to warn the radio station about the health risks, and these risks were still never shared with the contestants. When Jennifer Strange was taking part in the contest, she was complaining of pain, and the deejays responded by laughing at her.
If you had been a DJ you wouldn't listen to most of your call ins either.
Most people calling into a DJ are either drunk or stupid. Or drunk off stupid.
I bet you five dollars she had to sign a release waver before competing in said competition that probably somewhere in fine print labeled what could possibly happen. Said waver is probably the reason the family didn't get as much as what they were hoping for in the lawsuit.
the winner was wearing a dipper, pee all you want they dont need to know lol. but come on people wee for wii, i just stood in line for 5 hours. still better then dying
The people who held the contest were sort of being idiots. While I do feel sympathy for these children who have to grow up without their mother... What the HELL?
You know what? If you're too stupid to realize that by not evacuating your waste you are poisoning yourself, you are too stupid to be raising children.
DayDark: people really need to learn that the dose makes the poison. you can die from anything if you get it in large enough quantities.
This is true. And to verify the "everything", vitamins minerals taken into the body (especially those that are not fat soluble), everything else if you stand underneath it.
That's a pretty screwed up contest. I'm sure it was meant to be harmless but and maybe the whole "Wee for a Wii" thing seemed clever but really it's just gross. Yes I know this is out of taste but I couldn't help notice their last name in all of this.
lwm3398: Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?
IIRC, water can dilute the electrons (at least I think it was electrons) of your body, pretty much causing you to shut down for good. As you might expect, it takes a large quantity of water to get the diluting effect.
Basically the amount of solutes in her blood becomes lower than the concentration inside the cells after ingesting large amounts of water, and water begins to diffuse across the membrane until the cell bursts.
I dont even know what to think of this. I dont know whether to congratulate the winner, feel sorry for the woman who died or just be amazed that anyone would do this in the first place for a Wii. Feel sorry for her family but at least they won the claim.
Yes, she is an idiot, but the people who held the contest are just as or more effing stupid
Every so often you hear stories of people dying because of over consumption of water at some stupid ass contest, you think people would freaking learn and stop putting these stupid ass contests on
DeathQuaker: I've been reading some articles about this elsewhere (ABC news, Baltimore Sun, amongst other news sites), and a couple significant things should be noted: first, the contest was never cleared by the radio station's legal team. Second, the deejays never warned contestants of the danger, and in fact said the opposite (this quote from abcnews.com):
"Can you get water poisoning and, like, die?" asked the female disc jockey.
"Not with water," a male disc jockey replied. "Your body is 98 percent water. Why can't you take in as much water as you want?"
A number of people called in to warn the radio station about the health risks, and these risks were still never shared with the contestants. When Jennifer Strange was taking part in the contest, she was complaining of pain, and the deejays responded by laughing at her.
I think all of this suggests pretty clearly to me that the radio station did need to be held liable for its irresponsibility in running the contest. There was no research and no warning, and they were further to the public basically saying, "Don't worry this is perfectly safe!" when telling people to take poison.
This doesn't absolve Strange's liability for participating in the contest, but her lack of information resulted in the most final punishment possible, a far more dire punishment than she deserved (the threat of water intoxication is not common knowledge; to her it probably sounded like an easy way to get a Wii for her kids at a time (2007) when getting hold of a Wii was really hard). That the radio station was sued for a mere $16 million is a drop in the bucket comparatively speaking. But better that they be held accountable for their part in the fiasco. After all, if some public entity held a contest of "Win Russian Roulette and win a prize!" they're still being irresponsible and encouraging deadly behavior. No, someone with common sense would not participate in a contest like that, but that doesn't remove responsibility from the people encouraging the bad behavior in the first place. Neither side has to be "right" or "wrong" in a case like this.
THANK YOU, too many people are blaming only the victim and not the radio station, from this description, the radio station sounded unbelievably irresponsible
Or Brawndo. (Thank Yahtzee for watching this in the office and reminding us about our ELECTROLYTES)
Argh! I swear I saw that in a comedy movie! Well not the video but the drink. Damn! I forgot what it was called. OnTopic: Wait what!? I...I don't even know what to say!
elitepie931: Argh! I swear I saw that in a comedy movie! Well not the video but the drink. Damn! I forgot what it was called. OnTopic: Wait what!? I...I don't even know what to say!
Pvt. Joe Bowers: What *are* these electrolytes? Do you even know? Secretary of State: They're... what they use to make Brawndo! Pvt. Joe Bowers: But *why* do they use them to make Brawndo? Secretary of Defense: [raises hand after a pause] Because Brawndo's got electrolytes.
Wait, who was the winner? Must've been Tracy from Heroes.
Anyway, this poor family. The mom probably didn't think anything could happen from drinking too much water. The kids will live a good life now, if they spend the money wisely, but they'll never get her back. Poor family, my prayers go out to them. *controls self to avoid making last name joke.*
SantoUno: WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.
I blame both, but the biggest villains here are the family. Rather than greiving over their dead mother/wife, they simply see it as a chance to make a fortune.
gim73: Most of the other contestants probably left the contest and actually used the toilet. I drink alot of water each day, but I also use the toilet when my body tells me to use it.
I remember hearing about this back when it happened and thinking that nobody should have been fired from the radio stations in the first place. It's like how water parks get shut down because one idiot decides he wants to do it 'his way' and gets himself killed. Then the family goes and sues the park for everything they have. Does this really make sense? This is the perfect example of the tyranny of the minority ruining everything for the majority. I like water parks. I don't like that some have been shut down because of statistical anomolies on the far end of the bell curve bringing down the whole thing.
Likewise, if a radio station had a contest where they have the contestants smoke as many cigarettes as they can in an hour, they shouldn't have to tell you that it is bad. A non-smoker shouldn't try out for this contest. Anybody who dies of cancer SHOULD NOT blame the radio station for their own stupidity.
Except that person who died in this case didn't ignore the rules do things her own way. She was encouraged by the radio station who knew the risks and few people ever heard of water poisoning. (I certainly didn't know you could die from drinking too much water or holding in your pee before I heard of this event.) It's more akin to water park employees goading her to jump off a spot, they claimed was safe when concrete was underneath. And people defend the water park employees by stating that the woman should have known better.
appleblush: No one finds that suspicious? No one thinks it's the least bit strange that instead of knowing that the DJ responsible for the irresponsibility is in jail for his actions they go for the money?
Judging by the posts her, the majority of people seem to side with the radio station that instigated the events leading to Mrs. Strange's death. Add that to the conviction rates in the United States, or the lack of initiative to attorneys to even prosecute criminals and you'll find that trying to convict them for a crime would lead to their walking free. Their conviction won't make them feel any more sorry than they probably already are.
However funerals costs a lot of money. Not having a mother to work and provide for the family causes a lot of hardship. The state of this economy is a lot of strain on Americans. 16 million dollars is a lot of money and can help alleviate that.
SantoUno: WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.
I blame both, but the biggest villains here are the family. Rather than greiving over their dead mother/wife, they simply see it as a chance to make a fortune.
I hate people who do this...
If someone caused the death of one of your loved ones, wanting compensation for that is considered villainous?
gim73: Most of the other contestants probably left the contest and actually used the toilet. I drink alot of water each day, but I also use the toilet when my body tells me to use it.
I remember hearing about this back when it happened and thinking that nobody should have been fired from the radio stations in the first place. It's like how water parks get shut down because one idiot decides he wants to do it 'his way' and gets himself killed. Then the family goes and sues the park for everything they have. Does this really make sense? This is the perfect example of the tyranny of the minority ruining everything for the majority. I like water parks. I don't like that some have been shut down because of statistical anomolies on the far end of the bell curve bringing down the whole thing.
Likewise, if a radio station had a contest where they have the contestants smoke as many cigarettes as they can in an hour, they shouldn't have to tell you that it is bad. A non-smoker shouldn't try out for this contest. Anybody who dies of cancer SHOULD NOT blame the radio station for their own stupidity.
Except that person who died in this case didn't ignore the rules do things her own way. She was encouraged by the radio station who knew the risks and few people ever heard of water poisoning. (I certainly didn't know you could die from drinking too much water or holding in your pee before I heard of this event.) It's more akin to water park employees goading her to jump off a spot, they claimed was safe when concrete was underneath. And people defend the water park employees by stating that the woman should have known better.
appleblush: No one finds that suspicious? No one thinks it's the least bit strange that instead of knowing that the DJ responsible for the irresponsibility is in jail for his actions they go for the money?
Judging by the posts her, the majority of people seem to side with the radio station that instigated the events leading to Mrs. Strange's death. Add that to the conviction rates in the United States, or the lack of initiative to attorneys to even prosecute criminals and you'll find that trying to convict them for a crime would lead to their walking free. Their conviction won't make them feel any more sorry than they probably already are.
However funerals costs a lot of money. Not having a mother to work and provide for the family causes a lot of hardship. The state of this economy is a lot of strain on Americans. 16 million dollars is a lot of money and can help alleviate that.
SantoUno: WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.
I blame both, but the biggest villains here are the family. Rather than greiving over their dead mother/wife, they simply see it as a chance to make a fortune.
I hate people who do this...
If someone caused the death of one of your loved ones, wanting compensation for that is considered villainous?
Thats the point. Her death wasnt caused, she brought it upon herself.
Also, you say in your post that few people have heard of water poisoning. Every single person I know has heard of it, theres plenty about it on the news often, in many popular novels it comes up a fair bit...Im a bit surprised you dont know about it. Thats like being unaware of AIDS
Also, you say in your post that few people have heard of water poisoning. Every single person I know has heard of it, theres plenty about it on the news often, in many popular novels it comes up a fair bit...Im a bit surprised you dont know about it. Thats like being unaware of AIDS
Here in California, I recall hearing on the news of people fainting from exercising after drinking too much water, or hearing about torture involving force feeding people water and jumping on their bellies to make it explode. We learn about AIDs and other diseases early in Elementary school.
However I've never heard of anyone dying from holding in their urine until this story. And every PE teacher I've had always encouraged us to drink MORE water, without even knowing about how much water we've had. We were only made aware of what overhydration does to electrolytes when I was in the 12th grade.
annoyinglizardvoice: Everyone's pretty daft is this situation. Don't think the family deserve cash just 'cause mum was a moron, but the station should be loosing some.
I agree. The station should lose some. They should have given her family a wii. Americans put too high of a value on human life. This woman didn't know it, but her life was actually worth around 300 bucks. Some criminals have been known to die for amounts close to nothing.
Really. If it was 'Race for a PS3' where they actually had to run fast, and her heart gave out during the race, this wouldn't be so much of an issue. Besides, a PS3 is worth dying for, a wii is not.
I've been reading some articles about this elsewhere (ABC news, Baltimore Sun, amongst other news sites), and a couple significant things should be noted: first, the contest was never cleared by the radio station's legal team. Second, the deejays never warned contestants of the danger, and in fact said the opposite (this quote from abcnews.com):
A number of people called in to warn the radio station about the health risks, and these risks were still never shared with the contestants. When Jennifer Strange was taking part in the contest, she was complaining of pain, and the deejays responded by laughing at her.
I think all of this suggests pretty clearly to me that the radio station did need to be held liable for its irresponsibility in running the contest. There was no research and no warning, and they were further to the public basically saying, "Don't worry this is perfectly safe!" when telling people to take poison.
This doesn't absolve Strange's liability for participating in the contest, but her lack of information resulted in the most final punishment possible, a far more dire punishment than she deserved (the threat of water intoxication is not common knowledge; to her it probably sounded like an easy way to get a Wii for her kids at a time (2007) when getting hold of a Wii was really hard). That the radio station was sued for a mere $16 million is a drop in the bucket comparatively speaking. But better that they be held accountable for their part in the fiasco. After all, if some public entity held a contest of "Win Russian Roulette and win a prize!" they're still being irresponsible and encouraging deadly behavior. No, someone with common sense would not participate in a contest like that, but that doesn't remove responsibility from the people encouraging the bad behavior in the first place. Neither side has to be "right" or "wrong" in a case like this.