Posted by
Ed Lilly on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 3:55:21 PM
A news story at Bloomberg.com contains the following interesting update on scientific research:
The Bee Gees' disco anthem “Stayin’ Alive” from 1977 has 103 beats a minute, close to the number of chest compressions needed for cardiopulmonary resuscitation to work, according to a study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Students who listened to the tune while practicing CPR on a dummy learned to give the right number of pumps, an abstract of the research in the Annals of Emergency Medicine said.
And later notes:
The results will be presented at a meeting of the Dallas-based group later this month, in Chicago.
So disco music may somehow wind up being involved in helping mankind. Who would have thought?
It’s especially nice that this research is being presented in Chicago, where disco music has a
somewhat less glorious history:
Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was held during a scheduled twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. During the event, rowdy fans surged onto the field, and a near riot ensued.
If you follow the link above for the background information on Disco Demolition Night, and a more complete description of the event, in which approximately 75,000 fans staged the “near riot” between the doubleheader games, resulting in forfeiture of the second game, you won’t be disappointed. I remember Disco Demolition Night dimly from my youth, but know the story well from having heard the radio hosts involved in the promotion, Steve Dahl and Gary Meier, for years afterward on Chicago radio.
I don't think Steve and Gary are on the air anymore. If they are, it would be a nice touch for them to get press passes for the medical conference so they can provide full coverage of this latest "threat" of the return of disco.