Some hazards can strike so suddenly and with such deadly violence that, to avoid them, comparably extreme rules must be made and followed with fanatical devotion. Three of my favorite precautions:

• Always keep one hand in your pocket when working on a high-voltage circuit — even if you have unplugged all current sources and shorted out all components that could possibly store energy ...
• Never eat anything in a chemistry lab — even if you brought it in yourself and have just unwrapped it ...
• Always assume that every gun is loaded and about to go off — even if you have seen the clip and chamber emptied with our own eyes only moments ago ...

Other safety tips?

TopicLife - TopicScience - 2003-03-15

(correlates: TwoGreatSecrets, SconesAndCrumpets, DalaiLamaBirthdayGift, ...)