(New York, 2004) Mr. T, a 39-year-old manager at a high-tech biotech
company that provides burn victims with plasma, by happenstance was also an
avid snowmobiler. One morning on the way to work, he stopped to fill his
Officially Opproved Gasoline Can to use later as cleaning solution for the
snowmobile's engine. (Reader comment: "There are so many ways that plan
can go wrong, which will Mr. T. choose?") He chose to place the
container on the front seat and go in to work.
That afternoon, Mr. T. needed to retrieve a stack of medical paperwork from
the car. Since smoking was not allowed in the building, it seemed an
opportune moment to slide into the driver's seat and light up. But his
cigarette wasn't the only thing that was interested when he flicked his
Bic.
Fumes had been leaking from the gas container all day. Just a bit, as the
car warmed up, a little bit here and there. By the afternoon, when our
unfortunate volunteer example of what-not-to-do took his first (and last)
drag, the vapors ignited. In the inferno, Mr. T.'s car was severely
damaged, but he miraculously managed to escape--with a few deep
burns. He became one of the few to be eligible for an employee discount
program... for plasma! And, naturally, we expect that he had to print and
sign the whole stack of burned medical forms, again.
* Not his real name. A pseudonym, Mr. T.
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