I've long suspected that I'll die a ridiculous death, and that it'll be used as a cautionary example. But death by yard work? Wow, that just sucks.

/that's not a ficus

Who needs anemones?!?

Amirite?

When crews arrived at the home near 26th Street and Earll Drive they could see two men in the backyard tree about 40 to 50 feet up. They were yelling in Spanish that their friend was cut in the leg and pinned in the tree.

Had to be pointed out.

2,000 pounds of tree skirt? That seems like a lot.

....who needs enemas?

Makes the numerous Black Widow bites you get from working on palm trees seem like a

/got nuttin'

Those trees leave me breathless, as well.

Well , you don't see that every day .

I'm trying to grok this. He was still up in the tree, and the weight of it crushed him? Um, wut? So, he crawled up into the top of the crown and them slid down between the layers of fronds? If so, it wasn't the weight of the fronds that killed him, it was his own weight, and gravity. How drunk was he?

It's times like this where a diagram would really come in handy. I'm extraordinarily confused by how this happened.

CheekyMunky: Who needs anemones?!?

Amirite?

Yes. Urite. Over in two. Well played Cheeky and Subby. This man's death is not in vain as it prompted this glorious exchange. If my life and ever looming death were only so inspiring.

Bleech.

I've knew two guys who decided that DIY tree service is a clever idea and they ended up in the ER. A whole lotta fail.


And something apropos... (new window)

...who needs enemas?

/DNRTFA yet

death isn't common, she said it happens frequently enough that the department's technical rescue team carries equipment to respond to this type of emergency.
Wait, can somebody explain this to me?

itsaback: death isn't common, she said it happens frequently enough that the department's technical rescue team carries equipment to respond to this type of emergency.
Wait, can somebody explain this to me?

Let's get the whole paragraph in there and it will make sense

Although Jamison said this type of death isn't common, she said it happens frequently enough that the department's technical rescue team carries equipment to respond to this type of emergency.

And that means they have enough palm trees out there they deal with this type issue frequently.

/lived in the desert
//palm trees good for shade, pain in the arse to maintain.

I'm a bad bad person, MadTheologian: And something apropos...

I woke up the wife laughing.

not sure if different ads cycle thru, but when i clicked the link, theres a picture about 2 inches below the headline of a cop angrily pointing his finger at a lady. and I'm wondering "why is the cop yelling at the widow) (had not RTFA yet, was distracted by the angry cop)

turns out it was an ad for lawyers trolling for customers who got tickets.

anybody else get thrown off by that?

Basically, a mature palm frond on certain palm trees can be insanely heavy, especially factoring in its thick stem.

Keep in mind that palm tree fronds grow upward and outwards.

What apparently happened here was that the landscaper was sawing off at the base of the stem of a particularly large frond, which snapped, not completely, and fell downwards, in a clam-like motion, trapping the landscaper between the frond and the palm tree itself.

The weight of the frond pressing against the trapped landscaper was heavy enough to prevent the landscaper from drawing a breath, which is why he suffocated.

/Lives in Phoenix...Seen many a plam tree here.
//First time I ever heard of this happening but can understand how it happened because I've trimmed a few palm tree fronds myself and they can be WOW-SO-HEAVY-BUT-DON'T-LOOK-LIKE-IT.
///Wants to announce a War on Fronds.
////Do I qualify for federal funding?

who needs Aetna?

/all the good ones were already taken

Fronds from a palm tree are that heavy they can kill you? They look so nice and fluffy.

Just realized I know nothing about palm trees. Next time I'm in an area where they grow, I'm going to take a real close look at those killers.

I just looked up and saw this thing my Aunt sent me for the Easter season hanging on the wall - a Celtic cross made out of palm fronds. It's seems very light, but I'm going to take it down before it kills me.

*palm*

This would have made a better story had it happened last week.
_{(But he wouldn't have worked on Palm Sunday.)}

eas81:
//palm trees good for shade nothing, pain in the arse to maintain.

FTFM

/Lives in Phoenix and hates palm trees.
//Maneating pigeon perches.

author1701: eas81:
//palm trees good for shade nothing, pain in the arse to maintain.

FTFM

/Lives in Phoenix and hates palm trees.
//Maneating pigeon perches.

I was going to say the same thing. Palm trees do NOTHING. Queen Anne palms might add a little shade, but you' can't really get underneath them easily.

This article just gave me another reason to hate Phoenix. Why would people want to live in the desert? Every type of flora and fauna is trying to kill you.

Jamieboy: Fronds from a palm tree are that heavy they can kill you? They look so nice and fluffy.

Just realized I know nothing about palm trees. Next time I'm in an area where they grow, I'm going to take a real close look at those killers.

I just looked up and saw this thing my Aunt sent me for the Easter season hanging on the wall - a Celtic cross made out of palm fronds. It's seems very light, but I'm going to take it down before it kills me.

When the fronds die off they leave behind dead material, and then the tree grows up. Imagine if the large woody part just below the green part fell on you.

Wretschko
///Wants to announce a War on Fronds.

I'll sign on to that.

/trimmed ours yesterday
//planning to have them removed

vlakorados: It's times like this where a diagram would really come in handy. I'm extraordinarily confused by how this happened.

As am I. I don't even know what to google to make it make sense.
Someone help us.

Palm trees when untrimmed form this really shaggy mane, and if a tree has never been trimmed, each successive layer rests on the previous layer. When an inexperienced person gets under there and starts trimming its like removing stones from under an arch until the remaining layers COLLAPSE, pinning the persons arms to his sides and usually compressing said person so that drawing a breath is impossible. I've also run into huge bat nests and all kinds of other nasty shiat inside these trees which are the scourge of the arborist world.

CheekyMunky: Who needs anemones?!?

Awwww...you made me ink.

We just watched "Finding Nemo" last night.

Came for the anemones, leaving satisfied.

Don't palm trees also need a shiatload of water? I've heard they're a really stupid tree to be planting in the desert.

Watching Mexicans work is quite entertaining. They have no brains, but endless guts.

Oftentimes they get away with things that just make one laugh.

studebaker hoch: Watching Mexicans work is quite entertaining. They have no brains, but endless guts.

Oftentimes they get away with things that just make one laugh.

Well it's nice to know you're not just an anti-semitic asshole, but a general all around bigot.