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Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

spotthedrowningchild.com

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Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#161

Post by astrobe_ »

duaneb wrote: post #88
AlphaGeekZulu wrote: post #25

I witnessed a scene like this a while ago and it was such a pure horror, that I still get tears in my eyes when recalling the event. I was lying with my wife next to the pool, casually watching. A small boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old, stepped to the ladder and climbed down into the water, in a completely confident, unspectacular way. With the water up to his neck, he did not start to swim, though, but just continued dow…

If you ever enjoy experimenting with babies, this is how they will act when lowered into a pool. They will stand (or sit) on the bottom, holding their breath. Having a tea party is much easier before you realize the danger consciously.

There's something I don't understand in this statement and in GP's story: when you stay static in the water, provided you don't carry extra weight, you just naturally go up and float to the surface. If you want to stay down, you have to actively move in order to counter Archimedes' force.

The reaction of babies is therefore perfectly adapted: stay calm, hold breath, wait until your lower density brings you back to the surface. Chaotic moves that counter this and burn your blood oxygen is actually what makes you drown yourself.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#162

Post by totalrobe »

smackfu wrote: post #140

I found this a bit confusing. I thought it was one of those things where the drowning kid doesn't look like he was drowning. But instead, no one is generally drowning in the first 10-15 seconds. Then a kid flips over a floatie or such, and they are pretty clearly the one in trouble. Then the lifeguard jumps in. So you really only have 2-3 seconds to spot the child.

Same

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#163

Post by myth_buster »

jacalata wrote: post #119

This didn't seem to do anything for me. I clicked on the kid I thought was in trouble and the video just paused. When I continued the video, I saw that I had in fact chosen the right kid, but I didn't see any way to interact with it at all, or acknowledgement if I had the right kid, etc. Windows 8, Chrome, ???

The tool is not interactive. It's purpose is to see whether you can spot the kid. If not, then you can re-run the video and look at the symptoms and familiarize with it. You can play other videos and try at spotting. The primary takeaway is that it's incredibly difficult to know when someone is drowning and this helps you understand that and be attentive next time you are near a water body.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#164

Post by corndoge »

I clicked on the drowning boy about 6 seconds after he slipped out from his tube, and the site's response was "Just splashing around, keep looking." Then I tried it a few more times. There seems to be a 2-3 second window just before the lifeguard jumps in. Kind of lame since it was obvious sooner than that.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#165

Post by aembleton »

irishcoffee wrote: post #30

I would like to point out that any flotation device in a pool besides a life jacket is just asking for problems. I life-guarded for almost 10 years, the only way I would ever let anything that supported a human floating __besides__ an approved life jacket was if the pool was almost empty (such that the one person got my undivided attention) and if I knew the child to already be a strong swimmer. I highly encourage ev…

My 20 month old has one of these Shark Fins: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SwimFin-3PK-Angelfish-Pink/dp/B001JR...

I assume that they are good as he uses them in his swimming classes and with it he can swim a few metres to the side of the pool.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#166

Post by Nadya »

aembleton wrote: post #165
irishcoffee wrote: post #30

I would like to point out that any flotation device in a pool besides a life jacket is just asking for problems. I life-guarded for almost 10 years, the only way I would ever let anything that supported a human floating __besides__ an approved life jacket was if the pool was almost empty (such that the one person got my undivided attention) and if I knew the child to already be a strong swimmer. I highly encourage ev…

My 20 month old has one of these Shark Fins: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SwimFin-3PK-Angelfish-Pink/dp/B001JR... I assume that they are good as he uses them in his swimming classes and with it he can swim a few metres to the side of the pool.

Does not appear to be Coast Guard Approved (nearly every PFD that is approved mentions that it is Coast Guard Approved if it is).

On Amazon you can shop for flotation devices that are "Coast Guard Approved" specifically. I would highly recommend getting one that is.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#167

Post by na85 »

northben wrote: post #34

Fellow HN readers: We're a smart bunch of hackers. Why don't we have a startup working on a technology that could recognize and alert lifeguards when swimmers are in danger? I bet a few cameras and some (admittedly advanced) machine learning could spot swimmers in need of assistance.

Most of the startup scene is about making a new JavaScript framework, not actually solving the hard problems.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#168

Post by Kluny »

AlphaGeekZulu wrote: post #100
jsprogrammer wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it? Did the boy do this intentionally? Did he go unconscious when entering the pool? Was he trying to stay under as long as he could? Why was he not moving at all on the way in? <- Down-mods for relevant questions.

I do not know for sure. My believe is, that kids at that age sometimes simply do not know what they are able to do or not. They watch others, as they climb down the ladder and they just imitate them, somehow expecting the same outcome. This boy for sure was not able to swim, but he probably didn't know it. He perfectly copied the behaviour of other people entering the pool and then was maybe completely stunned that h…

I don't understand why he didn't float? In my experience you bob to the top because of the buoyancy of air in your lungs - not above the water, but you at least float to the surface. Am I wrong?

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#169

Post by kaa2102 »

irishcoffee wrote: post #30

I would like to point out that any flotation device in a pool besides a life jacket is just asking for problems. I life-guarded for almost 10 years, the only way I would ever let anything that supported a human floating __besides__ an approved life jacket was if the pool was almost empty (such that the one person got my undivided attention) and if I knew the child to already be a strong swimmer. I highly encourage ev…

Cheers to a fellow lifeguard! It was a great summer job in high school and my first year of college.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#170

Post by sandworm101 »

ender7 wrote: post #144

Friendly reminder: rescuing a drowning person (even a child) is incredibly dangerous if you have not been trained in how to do it. They will try to climb on top of you if they get a hold of you and unless you are an exceptionally strong swimmer they will then proceed to drown you. The drowning reflex overrides most people's abilities to process other thoughts, with the result that a loved one is just as likely to dro…

Totally depends on the situation. Grabbing a small kid in two-foot-deep water isn't dangerous. They latch on and you walk away with them. Grabbing a 200lb man thrashing after falling off a boat ... get some equipment.

Fyi, the same rules apply when rescuing people from cliffs or other high places. Don't ever "throw them a rope". Don't approach until ready. They will latch onto anything nearby even if that means them falling because they cannot hold (human hands cannot properly hold bodyweight on modern nylon ropes).

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