It's the full moon, I tells ya! (long)

[WishfulSpirit]

So this weekend there's a full moon (it was actually still visible in the sky as I was walking to work today), and I think it is making everything (including inanimate objects and people's bodies) act crazy.

Here's a rundown of my shift yesterday:

I arrive at 7am to be told we had someone stuck in the elevator for half an hour. We took that elevator out of service and will have it looked at on Monday. The guest apparently thought waiting for the PBX people to respond (30 minutes aint bad) meant we didn't care he was stuck. Ok...

7:15am. A guest comes up with her (late teenage, early 20s) daughter. Said daughter is wearing a tank top and has visible red marks all over her back. Uh oh, possible bed bugs. I call my boss, who says he'll be right in (it's his day off). We get the exterminator to come in, and I move the guest to a new room and give her some claritin. No bugs found. (I heard from her mom that she had to go to urgent care the next day to get some good-quality allergy meds, so we think she just reacted to something we use in our cleaning process....nice girl though, hope she's OK).

7:30am: Right as Boss-man shows up to deal with the bug issue (in t-shirt and shorts, and for a man who comes to work in a suit, that means he's basically in his jammies), the fire alarm goes off. I don't know where it's coming from, so I and the housekeepers start hearding people out the door.

Rather than actually getting their butts out the building, everyone and their brother starts calling the desk asking what's going on (a FIRE ALARM is going on, move your backsides people! You are keeping me from helping those who need it!) and one gets all huffy that they weren't "notified" (um...a fire alarm isn't notice enough?).

Turns out a sensor in the basement malfunctioned, which is what set off the alarm. On the upside, a few very happy little boys got to have their picture taken with firefighters in front of the fire truck.

The rest of the day was fairly normal but GEESH. That's a lot for the first hour.

[Tee]

People and fire alarms, makes no sense.

Why do they just stand around?

Had several dozen people in line, and not one of them moved when our alarm went off. I had to start yelling at them for that to happen. -_-

[Jay 2K Winger]

So this weekend there's a full moon (it was actually still visible in the sky as I was walking to work today), and I think it is making everything (including inanimate objects and people's bodies) act crazy.

Hahaha, you think that people acting crazy is in any way dependent on the phases of the moon?!

Crazy is ALWAYS open for business, 24/7/365, rain or shine, full or new moon, no shirt no shoes doesn't matter you get your full dose of crazy regardless!

[jedimaster91]

Hahaha, you think that people acting crazy is in any way dependent on the phases of the moon?!

Crazy is ALWAYS open for business, 24/7/365, rain or shine, full or new moon, no shirt no shoes doesn't matter you get your full dose of crazy regardless!

It seems to be worse when there's a full moon. ER staff can DEFINITELY attest to it and I think there have been studies that show a connection. Yes, there is always crazy. But full moon crazy is a special kind of crazy.

[Kanalah]

We always know when it's a full moon. My daughter Shortie is Autistic and she always lets us know.

[WishfulSpirit]

The people thing is debatable (some cops and ER people believe in it, some say they don't notice a difference) but I had inanimate objects going bonkers. Objects like the elevator, smoke detector and maybe washing machine not rinsing out all the soap (if that's what the allergic guest was reacting to). I didn't know a full moon could make freeking MACHINES act crazy.

[Gilhelmi]

I think the problem with Fire Alarms are that too many people automatically assume that it is a drill, because they only ever hear them during drills, so therefor all fire alarms are drills. I wonder if there is a paper written on the subject of Fire Alarms and peoples response.

Dang it, now I have to look to see if that paper exists. Send out the Googleman Signal.

EDIT: There is, from FEMA even (first hit on Google, Thank you brave Googleman) http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pdf/efop/efo36393.pdf

Just started reading it, but first paragraph already says that yes; fewer people are evacuating even with the alarms going off.

Edit 2: Really interesting, some people do not recognize the alarm as a fire alarm, and combined with the fact of "nuisance alarms" people conclude that the likelihood of a fire is low and do not respond appropriately. Between these two things, far too many people respond correctly to the signs.

The paper actually recommends a "voice prompting" system. That would give clear commands to people to evacuate.

[jedimaster91]

The paper actually recommends a "voice prompting" system. That would give clear commands to people to evacuate.

Even that gets desensitized after awhile unless it's used solely when it's the real deal. I know at work they'll occasionally make an announcement that someone is working on the system and to ignore any alarms that might go off. If it's not maintenance and the fire alarms go off, there's a code called that tells us where the (supposed) fire is. And if it's not anywhere near my department, we shut all the doors and go on about our business. The last code got called in the pharmacy and I was like how the heck do you start a fire in the pharmacy?

But if I was in a hotel or other building and there was a fire alarm, I'd be getting the heck outta there.

[greek_jester]

The last code got called in the pharmacy and I was like how the heck do you start a fire in the pharmacy?

Spray an accelerant such as lighter fluid over the shelves full of pills in boxes and stacks of paperwork. Introduce a flame. Stand back and laugh.

You did ask.

[wolfie]

The last code got called in the pharmacy and I was like how the heck do you start a fire in the pharmacy?

Rubbing alcohol is flammable, and don't forget that a lot of pharmacies have nitroglycerine in stock.

[sstabeler]

I think the problem with Fire Alarms are that too many people automatically assume that it is a drill, because they only ever hear them during drills

Or alternatively, because some jackass decided it would be amusing to set off the fire alarm yet again. (I go to a college, and the official procedure in the event of an alarm is to leave the building, and clear off for 1/2 an hour, then come back, and, if everything's clear, go back in. One day, a jackass, when everyone was being let back in, set the alarm off AGAIN. When it happened a third time, and it was almost lunchtime anyway, (and it usually took an hour for anything productive to get done following a fire alarm anyway) I just stayed out until the end of lunch. (I believe the jackass got caught- for there own sake, I hope by the staff, and not the highly irritated fellow students))

[jedimaster91]

Rubbing alcohol is flammable, and don't forget that a lot of pharmacies have nitroglycerine in stock.

Our nitro comes in pill and patch form, and to my knowledge is significantly less volatile due to being diluted to the point it's no longer explosive. Most places use alcohol pads instead of bottles these days and even then, you still need a spark to set it off. In most areas of a hospital, your main fire threat is going to be some kind of electrical failure, and with all that oxygen around....We did have a memo not too long ago about someone plugging in one of those e-cigs and setting their bed on fire. So now we have to tell people not to do that.

[WishfulSpirit]

Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials.

[Seanette]

Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials.

If I had room in my .sig, I'd add this. SO true, and very well said.

[WishfulSpirit]

If I had room in my .sig, I'd add this. SO true, and very well said.

AWWWW THanks!