The White Falcon - 25.10.1985, Blaðsíða 8

Select safe holiday
toys for
children
Shoppers are now in the pro-
cess of buying holiday toys for
children of all ages. Toy shop-
ping is a part of the magic of
the holiday season.
But, in too many instances,
toys could dim this magic by
causing accidents and injuries.
The Medical Society of the
District of Columbia offers some
simple tips for selecting toys
that will help insure happy
holidays.
•Beware of small toys that can
be swallowed, flammable toys,
and toys with rough or sharp
edges.
•Electric toys should be safe.
Look for the safety approval
label on the cord and on the toy
itself.
•Avoid toys made of lead or
colored with lead-based paints.
You're unlikely to encounter
these today, as the dangers of
lead poisoning are well known.
But it's wise to be safe.
•Babies' toys should be too
large to put in the mouth, wash-
able, lightweight and non-brit-
tle.
Eye injuries are a particular
hazard from toys. Sling shots,
air rifles, archer sets and even
the spring-action toy pistols
that propel sticks capped with
rubber cups have caused eye in-
juries.
The air rifle, or B-B gun, is
still a threat, even though its
use is forbidden in many com-
munities. If you give your child
an air rifle, impress upon him
or her the danger of ricochet.
Many air rifle injuries come
from the small shot bouncing off
a fence post or the side of a
house. A target backed with a
bag of sand or straw is a must
for shooting an air rifle.
Use less salt... It's better for you
Less salt in processed foods
and baked goods will still taste
as good is the conclusion of the
Department of Agriculture, fol-
lowing a two-year study.
Food technologists Richard C.
Whiting and Eugene J. Guy of
USDA’s Agricultural Research
Service worked to see how much
the table salt, or sodium chlor-
ide, content could be reduced
and still protect the safety and
quality of processed foods.
These foods are the source of
more than 30 percent of America's
intake of sodium. Nutritional
and medical research have linked
high levels of sodium in diets
to high blood pressure and other
health problems.
Many brands of corned beef,
hotdogs and processed meats could
be made with 20 percent; to 25
percent less table salt, they
found. Lower-salt hotdogs com-
pared well with conventional
hotdogs in flavor, texture and
shelf-life.
Recipes for commercial and
homemade leavened breads could
call for 50 percent less salt
without sacrificing quality, Mr.
Guy reported. A 50 percent re-
duction could decrease the av-
erage consumer's salt intake
one-half to one gram a day.
The study confirmed that pro-
per refrigeration is more im-
portant than salt in retarding
the growth of microbes that cause
spoilage and food poisoning, Mr.
Whiting pointed out.
Seat belts save lives
The illustrations below were prepared by the National highway
TrafficSafety Administration. The first three drawings show the
effect to both the car and driver of a collision at 35 mph (about
58km). The drawing at the bottom is the biggie. It illustrates
a point the NHTSA has been trying to make for several years.
Seat belts save lives!
from the NHTSA booklet,
The Car Book
On impact, the car begins to crush
and slow down. The person inside
continues to move at 35 mph.
Within 1/10 of a second, the car
has come to a stop, but the
person is still moving forward
at 35 mph.
1/50 of a second after the car has
stopped, the unbelted person slams
into the dashboard or windshield.
This is the human collision.
With effective safety belts, the
person will stop before his or her
head or chest hits the steering
wheel, dashboard or windshield.
8
October 25, 1985 The White Falcon