"maybe you sleep for 15 minutes ....maybe you sleep forever "..coco question

[trioderob]

So on the Cook islands 3 different locals warned me not to walk under the coco's

they all made the exact same statement

if one falls : "maybe you sleep for 15 minutes - maybe you sleep forever"

so not having them out here made me wonder if any of you have a story about falling coconuts ?

[_Keith]

No stories, but I did find this:

""The origin of the death by coconut legend has been traced back to Dr. Peter Barss' 1984 study titled "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts", published in the Journal of Trauma.[7] In his research paper, Barss observed that in Papua New Guinea (where he was based), some nine people were injured by falling coconuts that year, with at least one fatality. The figure went on to be misquoted as 150 worldwide, based on the assumption that elsewhere in the world there was also a similar number of coconut deaths."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut"

After reading the wikipedia article, it would seem that death by coconut is a fairly rare occurrence,

[LJG]

No stories, but I did find this:

""The origin of the death by coconut legend has been traced back to Dr. Peter Barss' 1984 study titled "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts", published in the Journal of Trauma.[7] In his research paper, Barss observed that in Papua New Guinea (where he was based), some nine people were injured by falling coconuts that year, with at least one fatality. The figure went on to be misquoted as 150 worldwide, based on the assumption that elsewhere in the world there was also a similar number of coconut deaths."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut"

After reading the wikipedia article, it would seem that death by coconut is a fairly rare occurrence,

Death by coconut may be rare, but lawyers have infiltrated the third world. During my last two trips through SE Asia last year, at multiple hotels I stayed they were cutting out coconut palms.

[_Keith]

No stories, but I did find this:

""The origin of the death by coconut legend has been traced back to Dr. Peter Barss' 1984 study titled "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts", published in the Journal of Trauma.[7] In his research paper, Barss observed that in Papua New Guinea (where he was based), some nine people were injured by falling coconuts that year, with at least one fatality. The figure went on to be misquoted as 150 worldwide, based on the assumption that elsewhere in the world there was also a similar number of coconut deaths."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut"

After reading the wikipedia article, it would seem that death by coconut is a fairly rare occurrence,

Death by coconut may be rare, but lawyers have infiltrated the third world. During my last two trips through SE Asia last year, at multiple hotels I stayed they were cutting out coconut palms.

You are right on that, even in Florida. In the resort where we stayed in Key West, every single coconut was trimmed off.

[Bill H2DB]

I grew a large Bunya Bunya tree , and one of those fruits/cones is capable of killing as well.

[trioderob]

that bunya tree has got some nasty cones ......nice tree tho.......

[trioderob]

[trioderob]

[trioderob]

Edited June 15, 2015 by trioderob

[trioderob]

"maybe you sleep for 15 minutes ....maybe you sleep forever "

[_Keith]

The sign with the family, each with appropriate sized Coconut falling at a 45 degree angle is a classic. Super coco killers, taking out whole families at a time, lol.

[Coconutman]

Why would a grown man hold a lollipop?

[trioderob]

this Dude got hit in the head

[palmislandRandy]

"A coconut can fall and hit you on the head,

And if it falls from high enough can kind of knock you dead
Dead beneath the coconut palms, that's the life for me!"

"Coconut" by American poet, Frederick Seidel

[Alicehunter2000]

Lol...was just telling the wife yesterday how many deaths by coconuts (wrongly).......and now I know.

[nachocarl]

That reminds me of the Wizard of OZ tropical style.

[Moose]

How many deaths accounted towards the Coco de Mer ?

[LJG]

How many deaths accounted towards the Coco de Mer ?

Double.

[Moose]

How many deaths accounted towards the Coco de Mer ?

Double.

LOL - good pun Len

Even a glancing blow could be very damaging, just saying ...

[_Keith]

If you put de lime in de Coconut it'll feel better.

[Pal Meir]

Why would a grown man hold a lollipop?

Because he is a Japanese father, fond of his son …

[dalmatiansoap]

I grew a large Bunya Bunya tree , and one of those fruits/cones is capable of killing as well.

Anybody knows how hardy these are?

[DoomsDave]

I grew a large Bunya Bunya tree , and one of those fruits/cones is capable of killing as well.

Anybody knows how hardy these are?

Ante, they will likely grow for you.

They grow in Riverside, which can get at least as cold as you guys do.

BUT!

Cones are HUGE. Tree is huge, 30M tall. Imagine lineman, losing head, head falls on boss underneath, not wearing hard hat. (Ouch. Not good.)

[Pal Meir]

The most dangerous situation during my trip to the Philippines in 1978: My car was parked under a coconut palm!

[DoomsDave]

this Dude got hit in the head

Ouch.

I wouldn't volunteer to get hit on the head, but coconuts are not like stones. The dude is alive. If hit by a similar sized stone, hum your dirges.

You're not even safe from 50-foot tape measures. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/falling-tape-measure-kills-construction-worker-in-n-j/

[dalmatiansoap]

BUT!

Cones are HUGE. Tree is huge, 30M tall. Imagine lineman, losing head, head falls on boss underneath, not wearing hard hat. (Ouch. Not good.)

NO! Not the ultimate falling on the boss scene!!!

[DoomsDave]

BUT!

Cones are HUGE. Tree is huge, 30M tall. Imagine lineman, losing head, head falls on boss underneath, not wearing hard hat. (Ouch. Not good.)

NO! Not the ultimate falling on the boss scene!!!

Sorry about that! Having been the boss and the fallen worker both (at different times), that wasn't a good example. Yike.

Those aurocaria cones are bigger than someone's head, and much heavier.

The tree is very nice, a basic narrow-spread pine tree.

If I can get some seeds, maybe I'll send them out, though they might be too expensive to mail for free. If you really want bunya bunya and relatives' seeds, I'll bet they have some in Italy, especially around Rome.

[dalmatiansoap]

If U can get few seeds, just let me know. I can handle the costs

Edited June 16, 2015 by dalmatiansoap

[DoomsDave]

If U can get few seeds, just let me know. I can handle the costs

I'll keep my eye out, as we say, but it may be a while.

If you find seed somewhere do get them!

[Kai]

So many questions come to mind seeing this sign. It's brilliantly confusing.

- do the coconuts only fall with heavy storms?

- when the coconuts fall, do they always fall sideways like that or is there an evil monkey throwing them?

- does this sign imply that I should stay directly underneath the palmtree so I stay clear of the sideways falling coconuts?

- do the coconuts have a will of their own and fly off (sideways)? And:

- does this further improve seed dispersal?

- as mentioned before in this thread the adult with the lollipop is very confusing, maybe he got hit by a coconut before?

- why does the child have a nose and the the other 2 are noseless?

- why is the biggest coconut falling towards the female? That's just not fair!

- why does the coconut palm have no trunk?

- I can't read the Asiatic writings, maybe it will clarify everything, but for me it's just abracadabra.

[Pal Meir]

So many questions come to mind seeing this sign. It's brilliantly confusing.

- do the coconuts only fall with heavy storms?

- when the coconuts fall, do they always fall sideways like that or is there an evil monkey throwing them?

- does this sign imply that I should stay directly underneath the palmtree so I stay clear of the sideways falling coconuts?

- do the coconuts have a will of their own and fly off (sideways)? And:

- does this further improve seed dispersal?

- as mentioned before in this thread the adult with the lollipop is very confusing, maybe he got hit by a coconut before?

- why does the child have a nose and the the other 2 are noseless?

- why is the biggest coconut falling towards the female? That's just not fair!

- why does the coconut palm have no trunk?

- I can't read the Asiatic writings, maybe it will clarify everything, but for me it's just abracadabra.

I can at least answer your last question. The signs are read »yoojiñ – kokonattsu rakka«, which means »beware – coconuts falling«.

The son might have a longer nose because he told so many lies to his parents (Pinocchio effect).

[JT in Japan]

So many questions come to mind seeing this sign. It's brilliantly confusing.

- why does the child have a nose and the the other 2 are noseless?

- I can't read the Asiatic writings, maybe it will clarify everything, but for me it's just abracadabra.

I can at least answer your last question. The signs are read »yoojiñ – kokonattsu rakka«, which means »beware – coconuts falling«.

The son might have a longer nose because he told so many lies to his parents (Pinocchio effect).

I got this one: That's not a nose. That's the brim of his baseball cap.

JT

[Moose]

So many questions come to mind seeing this sign. It's brilliantly confusing.

- why does the child have a nose and the the other 2 are noseless?

- I can't read the Asiatic writings, maybe it will clarify everything, but for me it's just abracadabra.

I can at least answer your last question. The signs are read »yoojiñ – kokonattsu rakka«, which means »beware – coconuts falling«.

The son might have a longer nose because he told so many lies to his parents (Pinocchio effect).

I got this one: That's not a nose. That's the brim of his baseball cap.

JT

OK , can you explain the decapitated woman and a flaming coconut chasing the man ?

[mnorell]

It is obviously a litigation issue...as the trimmed trees down here are virtually always in municipal or state areas or at resorts/hotels. I don't know a person in the Lower Florida Keys who has their personal coconut trees trimmed to avoid falling seeds. Most of us have at least one, and usually many more, coconut trees on their private property, and we all plant as intelligently as we can...but you try to stay aware just in case, particularly with very tall trees...and we have a lot of tall Jamaicans and Panama/Pacific Talls down here (and the Jamaican seeds are BIG!). But only once have I ever even witnessed a coconut drop, though of course they do all the time! The fact of the matter is that most people down here like to have coconuts to drink/eat from so they are loathe to have them cut off prematurely. If I'm not mistaken, I think I've read that most of the deaths recorded have been infants placed by their parents under the shade of the coconut trees to sleep. Obviously that's a lethal situation if one decides to drop.

[trioderob]

I knew there had to be a mnorell to this story

[Pal Meir]

So many questions come to mind seeing this sign. It's brilliantly confusing.

- why does the child have a nose and the the other 2 are noseless?

- I can't read the Asiatic writings, maybe it will clarify everything, but for me it's just abracadabra.

I can at least answer your last question. The signs are read »yoojiñ – kokonattsu rakka«, which means »beware – coconuts falling«.

The son might have a longer nose because he told so many lies to his parents (Pinocchio effect).

I got this one: That's not a nose. That's the brim of his baseball cap.

JT

@ mortaljp – Of course yes, you are correct, I have to apologize: Japanese boys don’t tell lies to their parents.

@ Kai: The 45° angle the nuts are falling shows that there must be a typhoon blowing – according to my calculation – with speeds over 100 mph or 160 km/h. So this sign means: »Don’t have a rest under a coconut palm with your family during a heavy typhoon!«

[Kai]

Hey Pal,

Yes that makes sense. The wind speeds you mention are averages I asume. The 3 shown coconuts fall at slightly different angles which also might have something to do with their weight and density differences as well as the height from which they fell.

Also maybe coconuts filled with helium could be a hazzard for flight traffic. In a relative universe it would only be a matter of time until a helium coconut would form and float up. Warning should be given for such hazzards!