A Shining Example

...of what's wrong with the world we live in. I've started subscribing to the CBC RSS feed in order to feel like I know a little bit about what's going on in the world...and I'm considering subscribing to CNN as well. Not for the current war on terror body count or info on the current UN proclamation, no it's so I can get my daily fix of news articles like this:

Watch out — your pet could send you to hospital

Here's some exerpts:

"Thursday's report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at the falling hazards

posed by pets, based on five years of emergency department data for mentions of cats, dogs, kittens or puppies involved in nonfatal injuries."

"About three out of every 10,000 people annually suffered fall-related injuries from cats or dogs that are serious enough to send someone to the hospital, the researchers said."

" 'Prevention measures for fall injuries should be balanced against the known health benefits of pet ownership,' such as reduced risk of heart attack."

"Tripping was the main source of fall injuries from cats, which might be expected since felines often rub themselves affectionately against human legs."

"Dogs could startle people, cause their owners to chase them, or leave dog toys around that pose a tripping hazard."

This is my favorite quote...under "how to reduce pet-related accidents":

"Increasing recognition that pets and pet items can cause falls."

Seriously? You mean leaving stuff lying around on the floor can cause me to fall? And things that move could quite possibly get in my way if I'm not paying attention to where I'm going and cause me to become off balance? Well Jesus H. Christ why didn't someone warn me about this before?!

While I cannot believe that someone thought this was actually a worthwhile subject to write about for a NATIONAL NEWS OUTLET, it is even more mind boggling that someone first had to do an entire research study on this. AND SOMEONE GAVE THEM MONEY TO DO IT.  In case you didn't catch it from the quotes, it was performed by none other than the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Stories like these just enforce my long-standing opinion that the world is becoming increasingly populated by paranoid cookie-cutter compliant idiots whom are all completely and utterly insane.