As with most everything else in the newsroom, topics can often get blown out of proportion with stupid comments and elaborations and what ifs.
Recently while discussing my choice for song of the day - Disco Inferno by The Trammps - someone who didn't know what the song typed it into Youtube to give it a listen. Upon the song starting the staff member exclaimed that he had indeed heard it before. At that point another staff member entered the room and named the song immediately, then proceeded to tell the rest of us that when administering CPR, you are supposed to do it to the tune of that very song. Not really sure what that meant I started to picture some poor unfortunate guy after suffering a heart attack lying on the street, a crowd starts to gather, and after realizing that he wasn't just fall-down drunk, a voice calls out, "does anyone know CPR?"
Shouting "does anyone know cardiopulmonary resuscitation" would likely result in a lot of dumbfounded looks and questions regarding what on earth it meant.
Suddenly a hand shoots up and a skinny gent in snug-fitting khakis exclaims, "I do."
"I haven't had to do it for real yet, but I finished my training a few weeks ago so I should be OK," the chap exclaims.
Upon which the crowd takes a step back to let the kindly man get to work and hopefully bring the splayed-out victim back to life.
After tilting the victim's head back to open his airway and after checking his breathing and heartbeat - the victim's, not the kindly gent's - the man takes his cell phone out of his pocket and looks to see if he has enough bars from his service provider.
He types something in to the phone, taps the screen a couple of times and rests the phone on the flat of the victim's forehead.
He looks at his phone a coupe of times mumbling "damn crappy Internet service" before he proceeds. Shouts of "you should have gone with Bell" don't help the situation.
What seems like an eternity passes when suddenly the song, made famous by John Travolta as he danced across the brightly-lit floor in the movie Saturday Night Fever comes on the phone and the thin gentleman starts pumping the victim's chest to the beat of the song.
Unfortunately just as the chorus starts, the watching crowd can't hold themselves any longer and start to join in with shouts of "burn baby burn, disco inferno," with one smart alec in the middle of the crowd decides this is an appropriate time to roll his arms in front of his chest a la Travolta in the movie.
Even if our newsroom staff member is correct, and you are supposed to give CPR to the tune of Disco Inferno, somehow I don't think it would be a good thing for someone to wake up from a coronary to a crowd chanting "burn, baby, burn."
It might be more appropriate for a cremation but probably not for CPR.
And if there is no cell phone available to play the song, having the person administer CPR while singing the song could be just plain embarrassing.
