Few people would count video games as a physically dangerous hobby, with the pastime mostly exposing participants to possible minor sprains. It appears there might be some more dangerous aspects to video games than some might assume, and at least one of those dangers seems pretty baffling, all things considered. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, at least one person was stung by a scorpion while gaming in 2020.
The official USCPSC Twitter, which operates in a manner similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter in terms of absurdity, released an infographic detailing the number of injuries associated with video games during 2020. Clocking in at a grand total of 13,073, the post states that causes of the injuries were associated with things like concussions, lacerations, being hit by a thrown controller, and falling out of bed while playing games. And scorpions.
While it doesn't offer many specifics about the incident – or possibly incidents – the post does state that "getting stung by a scorpion while playing video games" is a hazard gamers apparently need to be on the lookout for. Comparatively, 14,500 people reportedly suffered an injury at the hand of vacuum cleaners, so video games are seemingly a less dangerous activity than doing housework.
Both numbers come from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, or NEISS for short. The infographic is lacking a lot of key data about the specific scorpion incident, which inherently raises questions. Plus, for an official US Government Twitter account, the style of many of the infographics is hard to take in. Quite simply, when and how someone managed to get stung by a scorpion while gaming will likely remain a mystery, despite sounding like a strange superhero origin story.
So far, the replies to the tweet have been pretty light-hearted, with most people baffled about how a scorpion sting happened in the first place. Others have asked that the USCPSC releases other interesting statistics about strange injuries, like any injuries that are the result of drinking water or performing another basic activity. Small accidents happen all the time, and the conditions behind them can be odd, so maybe even stranger incidents will be revealed by the USCPSC in the future.
Last year saw the video game industry grow considerably due to people being locked inside during the coronavirus pandemic, but 2021 may have its own share of strange video game statistics when all is said and done. It's certainly worth keeping an eye on USCPCS' next round of statistics to know for sure.
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