Well, Hello There Safety Stuff Subscriber,

Let's play around with some more stuff.

I'm on my way home from Orange County CA. What beautiful weather. Every time I come here it seems to be this way--just a trend I'm sure. Thank you Chris for choosing me for your Contractor Safety Day at Shell Pipeline. Without a doubt, your "Small Changes" campaign is going to be a grand success.

Next week I'm home working on new products, my music label (Fun Bird Music) and one of the coolest projects I've ever been involved with for children. I'll tell you about it later.

Good for you Larry E. Vecera from Specialty Retailers, Inc. You are this week's safety & health meeting/promotion idea winner!

Safety & health meeting/promotion idea winners get 25 Safety & Health Puzzles on CD which they can copy and give out to their employees. They also get a copy of Spice It Up! 52 Easy Ways to Turn Your Safety Meetings From Bland to Grand! If you'd like to purchase these helpful products just go to: www.makesafetyfun.com

If I publish your idea on how to use a prop to make a point, or some way to get your audience involved in a safety & health meeting, or an innovative way to promote safety & health on and off the job, you'll win the puzzles and booklet.

Send your ideas to me at richard@richardhawkinc.com or click on the link at the bottom of this message.

Let's see what Larry sent in:

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT . . .

As the Safety Manager for a retail clothing chain I conduct safety procedural and motivational training for groups of new store managers. Here's a fun way I start the session:

I hold up a large plush Smokey The Bear. Then, I tell the group who I am and ask if they know who they are. I tell them they are my customers and it's my job to provide them excellent customer service in the area of safety.

Then I ask if they know who Smokey is. Everyone does. Then I get the class to recite Smokey's motto, "Only you can prevent forest fires." I point out that Smokey is a symbol of safety and ask them what symbols of safety there are in their stores. e.g. yellow wet floor signs. During the talk I highlight how important it is for them as store managers to set the example for safe work for their employees. I exhort them to make "safety" an attitude, not an action, by "looking thru the eyes of safety" on the job.

At the end of the talk I tell them how to learn to "look thru the eyes of safety" by reminding them of Smokey's motto and getting them to shout out loud as a group, "Only I can prevent accidents!" It's a cute, simple way to catch their attention at the beginning of the talk and it instills a message at the end.

TIDBITS
(on the road)

A typical American driver will honk the horn 15,250 times in their life.

Sleep researchers have discovered that when clocks are set back an hour at the end of Daylight Savings Time, automobile accident rates drop, probably because of the extra hour of sleep.

A bottle of champagne has three times as much air pressure as the tires on a car.

"A Michigan man says it was 'quite a ride.' Police say they've never seen anything like it. Witnesses just watched in shock as a 21-year-old Kalamazoo man's wheelchair got lodged in the grille of a semi truck in June 2007 as the man was crossing the street. The truckdriver, a 52-year-old Kalamazoo man, says he did not see the wheelchair as he proceeded through the intersection when the light turned green.

9-1-1 dispatchers were flooded with callers who saw the semi pushing the wheelchair for about two miles. It then pulled into its destination, which is where the driver says he first saw that the wheelchair was attached to the vehicle. Police say the man in the wheelchair was not injured."

---WWMT News (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

MOST INFORMED--HANDS DOWN!!

Good Morning Richard,

Thank you for everything Richard! Your public seminar was absolutely the most informed seminar I have ever attended, hands down!

I came in this morning and immediately started a hostage takeover of our safety committee meetings, incentive programs, and training agendas--NO MORE COCKROACHES! I am working on my first presentation to about 400 employees (spread out) and cannot wait!

Regards,

Anthony R Zamudio
Coachella Valley Water District
Claims & Safety Specialist

If you'd like to get the same type of results at your next convention or employee day (or are looking for ways to improve your safety & health culture) contact Michele Lucia (972-899-3411 michele@richardhawkinc.com) or click on the link at the end of this email message.

If you'd like to see a video of yours truly go to my safety website www.makesafetyfun.com.

BLOOD SUCKERS

The mosquito is the sultan of germ warfare and has killed more people worldwide (by the spread of disease) than the combined totals of all wars or catastrophes in history. Mosquitoes spread infection because, when they bite, blood from the last victim is pushed into the skin of the new one. Even though mosquitoes pass bad blood to millions this way, health officials claim that mosquitoes cannot spread AIDS or hepatitis. They are able to spread the deadly West Nile Virus though.

The severe threat from these blood suckers is minimal in many countries (such as the U.S.) still, their bite can lead to infection and even death. (Since 1965 there have been about 10,700 mosquito-related deaths in the U.S.)

There are 176 seperate species of mosquito currently abuzz in the United States. According to Joseph M. Conlon, a technical adviser at the American Mosquito Control Association, "Estimating mosquito populations, given their disparate breeding areas, would be an exercise in futility. The fourth generation of a pair of mosquitoes . . . assuming a 70 percent survival rate, (they) would have produced a total of 49,843,353,164 mosquitoes--from just two mosquitoes, 14 weeks before!

Here are a few tips to keeping these tiny vampires from biting:

• Mosquitoes are attracted to things that remind them of nectar or mammal flesh. When outdoors, wear light clothing that covers most of the body, keeping as much skin and hair covered as practical. Avoid bright, floral colors. Khaki, beige, and olive have no particular attraction for mosquitoes.

• They are also attracted by some body odors, and for this reason they choose some individuals over others in a crowd. Avoid fragrances in soaps, shampoos, and lotions.

• Citronella candles may be useful but only outdoors.

• Bug zappers are not effective in controlling biting insects. Yes, they kill mosquitoes, but they also kill beneficial insects, often in greater numbers. The light in the zapper attracts more mosquitoes into your yard than you would have if the zapper was absent.

• Try to stay away from still water.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using an insect repellent on exposed areas of skin. The most effective compound is DEET (N,N-diethyl meta-toluamide), an ingredient in most insect repellents. However, insect repellents containing DEET should be used sparingly on children.

• Don't apply insect repellent under clothes, or too much of the toxic substance may be absorbed. Also, avoid applying repellent to portions of the hands that are likely to come in contact with the eyes and mouth.

• Mosquito repellents, such as DEET work by blocking a mosquito's sensory receptors to carbon dioxide, leaving it unable to detect humans.

• For greater protection, clothing and mosquito nets can be soaked in or sprayed with permethrin, which is an insect repellent licensed for use on clothing. If applied according to the directions, permethrin will repel insects from clothing for several weeks.

• Skedaddle and Avon's Skin So Soft both work well for some people. Neither these nor the stronger repellents stop mosquitoes from landing--only from biting.

Sources: University of Florida Entomology Laboratory, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Final Exits by Michael Largo, Prevention Magazine's Book of Helpful Tips