# A kid got hit by a train here the other day, he had his earbuds in **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179 "2009-12-06T06:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/81 "2009-12-08T01:55:00Z")
This thread really makes my head spin. The kid was **walking on train tracks** and it’s devolved into a headphone issue? Jesusfuck. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/82 "2009-12-08T06:53:28Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > This thread really makes my head spin. The kid was **walking on train tracks** and it’s devolved into a headphone issue? Jesusfuck. Welcome to the Straight Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/83 "2009-12-08T07:13:10Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > Welcome to the Straight Dope. Fighting Ignorance Sin… holy fuck, a typo I need to correct (or nit that needs picking)! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/84 "2009-12-08T16:14:11Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Yes, I know what earbuds are, and I’m telling you that people usually wear them shoved halfway into their ear canal. > > ETA: This is directed more at **Shot From Guns** Yeah, I know; some people are retarded. I was responding more to the people who were apparently unaware of the \*\*other \*\*kind of ear buds (ones like I have, which are intended to go in your ear canals), which actually \*\*do \*\*block a lot of ambient noise. > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m almost old enough not to care, but not quite and so vanity got the better of me. I just taped over the holes instead, thus forcing more of the sound out through the front of the earbuds. This helped, but the frequency response was still lousy, and now I only listen to my iPod through a speaker set that the iPod plugs into, or with a standard foam-insulated headset if I’m working outside. Why not just drop a couple bucks on a decent pair of in-canal earbuds? Seriously, though, nobody should ever use the iPod headphones. They’re pretty much pure shit. If you’re going to spend the money on the player, it makes sense to spend just a bit more on something that will let you actually listen to your music. > [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Fighting Ignorance Sin… holy fuck, a typo I need to correct (or nit that needs picking)! Mmmnn… Ignorance sin. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/85 "2009-12-08T18:12:52Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > You are a stupid fuck. The kid couldn’t hear the train (real train, not NY version of a train) because he was listening to music. Looking up would not have helped because he was hit from behind. He wanted to die maybe? Say that to his parents, I’m sure they share the same sentiments as you. > > Someday you will be listening to Nickelback, and you won’t hear the warning called out by a few bystanders, and will be flattened by a fucking runaway bus. _tears_ > > Cars are required to have functional horns. Why? Audible signaling. > > Fuck it. Just keep doing what you’re doing, things usually even themselves out over time. There will be fire when you get killed. I listen to music sometimes, with headphones or ear buds. I don’t walk on train tracks for starters. When I cross streets, I cross at the light, and I look around. I don’t have it cranked up, I can still hear what’s going on. You can’t protect everyone from their own stupidity. I can’t see giving up one of my simple pleasures just because there are stupid people out there. That’s the thing people (including attorneys and polticians) forget, no matter how many new laws and new rules get created… You can’t fix Stupid. The Stupid happens anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/86 "2009-12-08T18:42:15Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I know of someone who was hit by a train at a crossing where visibility was impaired and the warning lights/gates malfunctioned. Gee - the safety device failed, I guess that makes him an idiot. :rolleyes: > > Oh, wait - he wasn’t actually _killed_, I guess that makes it OK. Actually, if he was hit by a train and not killed, it _might_ make him a superhero. > [@dnooman](#): > > Links > > [http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/traffic/article/person\_struck\_killed\_by\_train\_authorities\_close\_road/27808/](http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/traffic/article/person_struck_killed_by_train_authorities_close_road/27808/) > > [http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local\_news/stories/2009/12/04/pedestrian-hit-by-train-in-Hilliard.html?sid=101](http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/04/pedestrian-hit-by-train-in-Hilliard.html?sid=101) > > [http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/12/04/story-hilliard-train-fatality.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=102](http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/12/04/story-hilliard-train-fatality.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=102) One of those stories says that the school will observe a moment of silence to honor the kid. It’s sad that a kid died, but they’d be doing more good for the surviving students by observing a moment of LOUD FREAKING TRAIN NOISE and reminding kids to pay attention when they hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/87 "2009-12-08T18:52:49Z")
some where around here there is a sign on a fence next to a crossing, it has a picture of a teenage boy and says “Andy lost his race with the train, don’t you make the same mistake” the kid was on his way to school and tried to go under a slow moving freight train…his back pack got snagged and he was dragged under the wheels. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/88 "2009-12-08T18:54:05Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Actually, if he was hit by a train and not killed, it _might_ make him a superhero. Please tell us his name is Hancock 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/89 "2009-12-08T19:42:12Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Please tell us his name is > > Hancock 😃 Yeah, I heard that guy’s unbreakable. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/90 "2009-12-08T19:57:24Z")
[“Like A Locomotive”](http://www.tsrocks.com/n/nrbq_texts/like_a_locomotive.html) or [“My Baby Thinks She’s A Train”](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/asleep_at_the_wheel/my_baby_thinks_shes_a_train.html) or even [“Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”](http://www.louisjordan.com/lyrics/ChooChooChBoogie.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/91 "2009-12-08T20:11:21Z")
[Stop That Train](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTPuhEC71Wg) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/92 "2009-12-08T20:29:01Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > there is a sign on a fence next to a crossing, it has a picture of a teenage boy and says “Andy lost his race with the train, don’t you make the same mistake” > the kid was on his way to school and tried to go under a slow moving freight train…his back pack got snagged and he was dragged under the wheels. If he was trying to go under a train, Andy didn’t understand the whole concept of ‘racing,’ then. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/93 "2009-12-08T20:57:31Z")
_A kid got hit by a train here the other day he had his earbuds in 'Tis a pity he had never heard When you collide with a train, the train wins_ I’m sure this could be worked in as an extra verse to Tom Lehrer’s “The Irish Ballad”. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/94 "2009-12-08T22:29:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > _A kid got hit by a train here the other day > he had his earbuds in > 'Tis a pity he had never heard > When you collide with a train, the train wins_ … Burma Shave? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/95 "2009-12-08T22:56:01Z")
> [@sisl](#): > > I feel much more sorry for the TRAIN OPERATOR, who must watch helplessly as some poor dummy gets squashed. I’m sure many train operators have run over lotsa “victims”, there is very little they can do about it. This was my point. If you don’t think watching yourself kill someone else is a tragedy, then you are the very definition of a sociopath. And it does seem that MOIDALIZE meant the Darwinian version. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to insult someone in the Pit. I find it difficult to think in that manner. ETA: > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > … Burma Shave? Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/96 "2009-12-08T23:48:55Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Why not just drop a couple bucks on a decent pair of in-canal earbuds? Seriously, though, nobody should ever use the iPod headphones. They’re pretty much pure shit. If you’re going to spend the money on the player, it makes sense to spend just a bit more on something that will let you actually listen to your music. That’s why I’ll spend money to buy quality headphones - I have never, ever found a set of “earbuds” that didn’t cause me intense pain after, at most, a minute or two, if I could get them into my ears at all, from pressing against the tissues of my ear. Apparently, I have unusually small ears. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179/97 "2009-12-09T00:14:58Z")
I should add also, **SFG** , that I did try a pair of in-canal phones and found their frequency response to be little better than the original earbuds. I also began to read and hear about them being prone to cause ear infections, so I just went with the headset that I used to use with my portable CD player. But thanks for the suggestion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-kid-got-hit-by-a-train-here-the-other-day-he-had-his-earbuds-in/520179.md?page=4)