According to a recent report, human beings are becoming so incredibly stupid that they require cushioned lamppost bases so that when they run into them they don't mess up their idiotic faces. Apparently, a study in the UK found that one in ten people actually managed to hurt themselves by walking into a post while peering down at their mobile phone screen. The mishaps -- called "walking and texting" injuries -- have spurred the charity Living Streets to launch the padded-post-pilot scheme in Brick Lane, London. It seems that if all goes well, there are plans to roll out the idiot-proof system in Birmingham, Manchester, and Stupidton.
Update: Thanks Mike, video now added after the break. Did he really say "higgily hoopily?"
[Image courtesy Yahoo! News]
posted Mar 6th 2008 5:39AM
When NYC starts padding lamp posts for the zombies on their phones texting away, I will agree with you, till then, London takes the Moronic City Award.
It's inventions like the Ipod blink remote control that make padded polls more sane.
http://packratstudios.com/index.php/2008/03/06/ipod-invention-leads-to-more-car-accidents-and-padded-everything-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/#more-149
Chris
http://packratstudios.com
A large expensive replacement for a small cheap device. ??
I'll stay with my EEE-pc thanks !
Please tell me this is a joke. Well, there is no better way to get rid of stupid people is there?
a fucking charity is doing this? ever heard of oxfam? i think thats a bit more of a worthy cause.
Actually, he said "higgledy piggledy" - translation "random spacing; no apparent order" - and he's right!!!
Screw the padding, I'm going to start selling head wound care kits, and lamppost cleaning supplies!
Sorry to break it to you, but this is a viral marketing stunt and the local town council is as mad as soccer hooligans forced to drink water:
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED05%20Mar%202008%2017%3A10%3A46%3A543
Sorry to break it to you, but this is a viral marketing stunt and the
local town council is as mad as soccer hooligans forced to drink
water:
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED05%20Mar%202008%2017%3A10%3A46%3A543
English people are dumb. lol.
This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. People who are too busy texting to pay attention to their surroundings deserve anything that happens to them.
This would be the dumbest thing ever if real...
To answer the question - No.
He actually said "Higgledy Piggledy"
see: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-hig1.htm
What a F***ing waste!
Not higgily hoopily, higgily piggily.
God forbid you actually use your peripheral vision and pay attention to where you're walking.
What happens when you bump another human being? As we all know from car crashes, that means 2x the impact velocity!
Human airbags FTW!
I was laughing at this, but then I remembered: a couple of weeks ago I was walking home on a friday night, pissed and stoned, when I walked into a lamp-post whilst looking at my phone.
I'm smart really. Honest.
I believe he said "higgeldy-piggeldy." I think it's pretty common British vernacular.
We have really lost are way, I give up please cant someone let me fall down in peace I really want to remember what it was like.
In the spirit of Airplane! ...
"They texted while walking, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash."
i foolishly remember having done this and almost having done this on a number of occasions :-P
good joke. The grammer gave it away but its still fun.
I know a guy who texts while he drives. Hes gotten so good at it he doesnt look at the phone when replying. He still scares me when I have to ride in his car.
Britney Spears naked again: http://celebritieshotvideos.com/videos.php?v=Britney_Spears
no, he said 'higgldy piggldy'....a common british slag term for "without much thought" or "cobbled together"
Why not just make people wear helmets. God this world is beyond help. How stupid can you be.
This is the most ridiculous story I have ever seen. Why would a city waste money trying to protect idiots who are too stupid to watch where they are going? If they walk into a pole, they are unsafe and need to have the cell phone taken away from them. It would be much cheaper to make it illegal to text while you are walking or driving. That way the city could make money by issuing tickets instead of wasting it on these idiots.
Why not train people to look where they are going . If they did that in a car while driving , they could get a ticket in some parts of the USA .
I propose that it be made a requirement that people who walk while texting must wear a large padded ring around their heads and middles. That way there can be some protection for the other human beings they also run into at a quick walk before one can get out of the way. It shouldn't have to be entirely up to the non-texting person to have to do a quick duck-and-dodge while being borne down upon by some idiot who should be watching where he or she is going.
There was the GPS mishaps... and now this. I love the Brits!
Just wait until insurance companies get wind of this "texting risk": mandatory helmets for everyone at all times!
this is an advert for a phone company called 118 118 - listen to the broadcast again ppl
Why don't they just do what we Americans have been doing for ages... Belittle and laugh uncontrollably at the idiot who hit the pole. Nothing like a little humiliation to make you conscientious of your surroundings.
On a serious note, someone should finally make a psychological study proving that over-sensitivity to other people's feelings positively reinforces weakness, stupidity, carelessness, and overall lack of accountability for one's own actions.
I say... Let the UK pad every street pole in their great cities and bring them one step closer to degenerating into a nation of Mr. Beans. Who knows, it might even bring some comic relief to the rest of the world.