ABSTRACT
Falling objects that could strike or crush body parts should incorporate a mechanism that slows down the object’s movement. Historically, many products have incorporated components that could drop onto and injure people. Slowing down objects can reduce impact forces and give people more time to get out of the way of a falling object. Fluid viscous dampers are filled with small amounts of— product developers guessed it—highly viscous fluid. When a heavy object drops, the fluid creates friction and resistance against the cartridge’s interior components, in turn slowing the heavy object. In the early 1980s, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission developed a voluntary standard suggesting that toy chest manufacturers use safety hinges that prevent lids from falling forcefully onto children’s heads and necks—the reported cause of at least 21 child deaths.
