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The Excretory System
Let’s begin with some stories in the news.
January 5, 2012
Who are these people? What’s going on??
News story:
In the hospital – notice the symptoms!
Afterwards:
So with proper medical care, Nick should be OK.
Let’s fast forward…to May, 2023 – ten years from now
Lucky you! You are chosen to perform on America’s Got Talent!
Unfortunately, you do not win.
Fortunately, Nick Cannon likes you so much he decides to take you and three or four friends on a two-week Pacific cruise aboard his luxury yacht!
Unfortunately, just as you are enjoying yourselves, you sail into a massive hurricane, and the yacht is wrecked!
Fortunately, you all manage to cling to the wreckage and end up on a desert island.
Unfortunately, no one knows where you are and the GPS emergency tracking system on the yacht is not working.
Fortunately, the island has plenty of fruit, fish and fresh water, so you can survive quite well.
Unfortunately, Nick starts to experience the following symptoms:
Decrease in urination, but reddish urine when there is some
Swelling in the face, hands, feet and ankles
Fatigue
Back pain
Since you remember his story, you realize he is experiencing … kidney failure. You also know that Nick needs the important medical treatment called dialysis in order to survive.
Fortunately, your diagnosis is correct.
Unfortunately, no one knows how to perform dialysis.
Fortunately, the following materials have washed up on to the beach:
- A catheter tube
- Sterile hypodermic needles
- Several feet of dialysis tubing
- Some Ziploc Bags
- A large metal washtub
Using these materials, as well as other materials available on the island, you need to design a system that will cleanse Nick’s blood just like healthy kidneys would.
Oh, by the way, there is an aged wizard on the island. You can ask the aged wizard three questions, and no more than three questions, as you design your life-saving dialysis system.
Nick can live a very long time with correct dialysis, but you need to get him started on it soon!
Good luck!
Another news story from a few years ago:
Ten Fired After Radio Contest Tragedy
Listener Called to Warn of Potential Danger
CBS News
(Jan. 17) - A Sacramento-area radio station fired 10 employees, including three morning disc jockeys, in reaction to a tragedy in which a woman died Friday after an on-air water-drinking contest at the station's studios.
Jennifer Strange, 28, apparently died from water intoxication after taking part in a contest to see how much water one could drink without going to the bathroom. During the contest, participants were given two minutes to drink an 8-ounce bottle of water and then given another bottle to drink after a 10-minute break.
The contest was called "Hold your Wee for a Wii."
During the contest, a listener - self-identified as a nurse - called the live radio broadcast and warned that the game was dangerous. "I want to say that those people drinking all that water can get sick and die from water intoxication," said the caller.
"Yeah, we're aware of that," replied a DJ, according to a broadcast news report. "They signed releases so we're not responsible, okay?"
Donnie Lane – one of the 18 contestants trying to win a Nintendo Wii gaming
console by drinking the most water without going to the bathroom – says contestants didn't hear that on-air warning in the room where he and the others were filling up way beyond comfort.
"Maybe she would have walked away," says Lane. "But we didn't hear that inside there."
Contestant James Ybarra said he quit drinking after eight bottles, but Strange, who placed second, and other would-be winners kept going even after they were handed even larger containers.
In all, according to witness reports, Strange may have consumed nearly two gallons. Afterward, she appeared ill when she went on the air, one contestant said.
Strange said, “My head hurts. They keep telling me that it's the water...that it will tell my head to hurt and it'll make me puke."
"Who told you that, the intern?" was the DJ's response, according to a KOVR-TV news report.
After the contest, Strange called in sick to work, crying and saying she was heading home in terrible pain. About five hours later, Strange – who had three children - was found dead by her mother at her home in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova.
According to the Sacramento County coroner, preliminary autopsy findings indicate she died of water intoxication.
Drinking large quantities of water rapidly can throw off the body's balance of electrolytes, causing brain swelling and leading to seizures, coma, or even death.
John Geary, vice president and general manager of the station’s parent company, announced the firings of the staff in an e-mail to reporters: "Effective immediately, the 'Morning Rave' program is canceled and ten employees are no longer with the station."
In the studio, Ybarra said Strange showed fellow contestants photographs of her two sons and daughter, for whom she was hoping to win the Nintendo Wii. The game console retails for about $250.
AP Contributed to This Report
Copyright 2007, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.