For all of you who would like to make an avocado sandwich on a bagel, you might want to read this post first.
Our friend and fellow blogger, Helen (Guacamole Gulch), told us an amusing story at lunch one day about the time she almost cut off her finger while slicing a bagel. She was rushed to the emergency room, hand all wrapped, dripping blood only to have to wait and wait to be seen by a doctor. Why? Because the patient waiting in front of her, also dripping with blood, had a 10" French knife sticking out of his arm.
This story led me to think about kitchen accidents (I assume the French knife man had been stabbed by an irate wife while she was slicing a bagel and got in an argument that led to the knifing). Anyway, I found that bagel slicing accidents are extremely common - thousands of them a year. In fact there was a whole article about this very subject in the Wall Street Journal, of all places (To Keep the Finger Out of Finger Food). Helen and the French knife guy can comfort themselves to know that they are part of the "ever expanding ranks of BRI victims". A BRI is a bagel-related injury. To the medical community bagel injuries are called "an epidemiological scourge."
And there were many more posts on Google about bagel related injuries. Just how do you slice a bagel? Well, Youtube had so many instruction videos that it was difficult to choose the best one. Here's my favorite (although the production quality is not good, it's very entertaining:
Just kidding. Here's another one:
I like this kid. He's so darn serious. But be sure to watch to the very end and check out his feet:
If you've decided not to try slicing another bagel using a knife, there are tons and tons of inventive bagel slicers. Everyone seems to like the "Bagel Guillotine". I'm not sure this is the best name for a bagel slicer. It sounds pretty ominous and threatening to me. But most people (with a few exceptions) seem to think it works well.
Tune in next week for The Case of the Missing Digit Part II when I discuss how to whack that avocado pit out of an avocado. Is an injury associated with removing avocado pits considered an ARI by the medical community? Is there a tool for removing pits? I'll let you know.
When I was seen in the emergency room with my partially detached digit, the attending ER physician, yelled out "Bagel Kit' and they brought over
ReplyDeleteall the stuff you need to re-attach a digit like stitches and bandages and whatever. This was in NYC of course, bagel capital of the world and probably digit reduction capital of the world as well.
This is very funny - all three videos are entertaining. and I'm on the edge of my chair waiting for Part 2. I have a rubber finger end left over from a magic trick (it's a long story) if you intend to make a bloody
avocado demonstration. Beth has several of course in all sizes and colors.
Oh, I forgot that part of the experience - the part about the "Bagel Kit". In the article I read, it said that most accidents happened on Sat. or Sun. mornings and people would often show up at the ER in their pajamas with the bleeding fingers.
ReplyDeleteWould love to use your rubber finger for the avocado demo - i'll have to invest in one of those new tiny video cameras to be able to film demos. A whole new technology!!
When my daughter was younger (about 13) I finally let her use the bread knife to cut a bagel, showed her how to do it, and told her to "BE CAREFUL!" She carefully began to cut the bagel, & cut her finger within 30 seconds...not badly, but SHEESH!!
ReplyDeleteSheesh!! 13 and already a BRI. Did she ever pick up a knife again?
ReplyDelete