ABSTRACT
The entrapment might conjure scenes from 20th-century movies that show people sinking in quicksand. For what it’s worth, people usually only sink to their waist and no farther because the human body is less dense than liquefied soils. Historically, too many infants have gotten their heads entrapped in crib railings, resulting in contusions, or worse, strangulation. Entrapment in playthings and furniture is a major threat to child safety. This has led to many regulations on the mechanical design of such things as play structures. Consumer Products Safety Commission statistics for the period 1999 to 2010 included 97 reported incidents of suction-related pool/spa/whirlpool bathtub entrapments including 82 injuries and 12 fatalities. Neck entrapment in a product can compress blood vessels dangerously, close an airway, and cause various musculoskeletal injuries. Additionally, being drawn into moving machinery has sadly been a routine cause of worker injury and death.
