May is water safety awareness month
'Water is an environment that we don't spend a lot of time in every single day of our lives. So, it's very foreign to a lot of people, and we are in such a water rich area that we have a lot of opportunities to interact with it. So, safety has to be paramount,' Director of Aquaventure in Greenville Mike Godwin.'
'Drowning with children is the number one cause of accidental death for children under the age of 5 and we are so passionate here at Goldfish at turning that statistic around,' Regional Manager of Goldfish Swim School in Greenville South Carolina Tiffany Keyser said.
For all the training that children and adults do in the water, it is crucial for them to learn how to get out safely. For some, swim lessons can start as early as four months old, the same age that babies can start holding their head up on their own.
'Very important for children to understand that they need to learn how to safely climb out of a pool or a body of water if they were to fall in,' Keyser said. 'They need to practice how to efficiently do back floats so that they can breathe oxygen. That's the number one thing that we always want to teach is how to do a really great back float.'
Experts said even if you are a trained swimmer, you need to be aware of what body of water you are swimming in and know your limits.
'We have to understand what our skill limits are. As adults, that's a little bit easier, but for kids, that's on the parents. The parents really have to understand what the limits of their child's swimming ability is,' Godwin said. 'I would say that, if you're taking your child to any kind of swim lesson program, make sure it's an established program that understands what they're doing.'
Local swim lessons are available at Aquaventure in Winterville or for young children, you can check out the Goldfish Swim School with multiple locations across the country and one regional location in Greenville, S.C.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Buzz Feed
27-07-2025
- Buzz Feed
26 Of The Dumbest Ways People Almost Died
Recently, I wrote an article sharing people's stories of the absolute dumbest reasons they almost died, and it was pretty wild. In response, even more people detailed their own wild, "dumb" near-death experiences. So, I decided to share their answers! Here are some of the best: "Not me, but my husband. He almost died from a nosebleed. He woke up in the morning and he blew his nose because it itched inside." "It started bleeding and would NOT stop. He's on blood thinners because he had a stroke when he was 28 (he's 58 now). He tried to get it to stop, pressure, the incorrect back-tilt to the head. Went through a whole roll of toilet paper. The bathroom sink looked like a murder had happened. He woke me up to have me I called the VA hospital and told them the story. They're an hour away. They told me to keep him awake, but if it gets worse, go to the nearest hospital. I got his pants on him, a shirt, and a winter coat. He only has the use of one arm, so that was fun. Getting him into the car was even more fun. I got him settled, and he said he felt dizzy. I said I was making the executive decision and went to the local ER. In the treatment room, he ended up choking on the blood and passing out. The doctors were right there and fixed him up; he had ruptured a big blood vessel in his nose when he tried to get rid of his morning stuffiness. He lost so much blood that they had to give him an IV and said that if we had made the hour-long drive to the VA hospital, he might not have made it."—pahz "What's really dumb is that, not only did I almost choke to death on a gobstopper, but I also narrowly escaped my own knife-in-the-toaster moment, AND I have an experience with being closed into a pull-out sofa. 💀🪦" —psychicpony227 "My brother and I were playing basketball in the front yard, then we both heard something whiz by our ears. Turns out people at a bar across the field were shooting." —fabprincess48 "I was 15 and forgot my house key. I decided to climb the 6-foot privacy fence because I didn't want to ring the doorbell and piss off my mom (she had PT at 5 a.m.). I thought I'd hop over and knock on my brother's window to let me in. It was very dark, and I jumped down right onto a grounding rod." "So I impaled myself. I had on snow white pants. Shock was in full swing 'cause I couldn't comprehend what happened. I don't know how I got off it, but by the time I rounded the corner to the back, I was covered. I passed out, my brother woke my mom, and she was pissed. Obviously, I ended up in ER surgeries. At one point of consciousness, I recall like four doctors down there discussing possible damages. It was a painful summer! Army brats are just built tough 😂. I was able to have children eventually."—sleepingskull45OMG, this is actually horrifying. I'm so glad you survived being freakin' IMPALED!!—psychicpony227 "When I was 8, I tried to catch a Goldfish cracker in my mouth and my dad had to Heimlich me." "I once got this plastic container that looked like a giant Nerd, and it was filled with Nerd-flavored powder à la Fun Dip. I was about 6. I took a mouthful in and instantly began choking. They had to turn me upside down. No more Nerd powder for me." "I suffered silently with a bad stomachache. On day three, my husband took me to the ER, and I had to immediately have my appendix removed. My dumb ass would have just dealt with it and died of sepsis." —aluckyblackcat "I was in a protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State on May 4, 1970." "A friend was about to be late for class and nearly choked when he decided it was a good idea to eat a sandwich while doing 'a speedy gay-walk.' He later said he imagined his tombstone saying, 'Here lies X, killed by a homophobic sandwich.' 😂" —whale_tail "I was walking in the woods in the winter and felt something hit the back of my boot. I looked down and there was a closed bear trap that had been hidden under the snow and that I had almost stepped into. This being the '80s, my mother had no idea where I was, so if I'd gotten caught, it would have been a real race between dying from blood loss or hypothermia." "I also hit myself in the back of the head with a hatchet and fell out of the back of a moving truck. The '80s, man."—Anonymous "I was sucking on a giant jawbreaker at a scary scene in a movie, and I inhaled in shock. The jawbreaker lodged in my throat. Dark theater, no one saw me, nothing to hear from me since it was totally lodged in my throat." "Not me, but my I contributed to her near demise. When we were about 5 and 6 years old, we watched Harry Houdini on TV with our mom. Afterward, we went to our room to play." "My family was vacationing in Aspen when I was about 8. My cousin and I jumped on a chairlift (Ruthie's Run), and my brother and grandpa were behind us. Well, this chairlift was very old and did not have a bar that crosses over you, and it ran over some really beautiful cliffs." "For some reason, the chair fully stopped, and because we were between two poles, our chair bounced all the way down, like 20 feet, then threw us back up about the same amount of feet above the chair line. We held so tight to the inner pole while my family watched in horror behind us. I don't know how we never let go, but I would never again ride a lift without a protection bar. Right above a cliff…"—Anonymous, 42, Michigan "I let a toothache go on WAY too long without going to the dentist. One day, I found myself lying on my floor because the infection had gotten so bad. I had to crawl to the phone to call my fiancé to take me to the dentist. Never have I ever come so close to dying. Don't let toothaches go on!" —Anonymous "I'm a longtime pest control tech. Doing a routine service in a lady's home, I needed to check the bait card under the kitchen sink trap. I just opened the lower cabinet door, saw the card, and started to reach into the darkened space when a little voice told me to be careful." "I got my pocket flashlight on — there was a black widow spider hanging out in a web she had constructed covering the bait card. Wow. That would not have been good."—Anonymous "I was trying to get a kid's toy Jeep to charge. I had replaced the battery recently and had just replaced the charger cord for the battery. The toy Jeep was still not turning on, so to check that the new charger was working, without thinking of the consequences, I touched the metal tip to my tongue, like how you check batteries. I felt the jolt of electricity probably for less than a second before I removed it. The toy Jeep had a wiring problem; the charger worked just fine. I'm still haunted by my stupidity in that moment." —Anonymous, 31, South Carolina "I was 5 and my brother told me he was getting telepathic signals from God, and God said I could fly. So I strapped on my roller skates, dressed in my Care Bears nightgown, tied a blanket around my neck, and found the steepest hill I could find. As soon as I took off, I started flapping my arms like a bird! Needless to say, I didn't fly. I picked up a lot of speed though, and went crashing down on the pavement, almost tearing half my body off. I still have scars." —Anonymous, 48, Denver "I DID die. In a car accident in 2016. I was dead in the ER for almost 15 minutes. The staff never stopped compressions or bagging me, and I was recovered. DO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE." "My wife never wanted me on a ladder unless she was there to 'spot' me. I'm 72. I needed to replace Christmas lights on a 40-foot-high spruce tree. I decided to wait until she was gone so she wouldn't worry." "Extended my ladder to its limit. I climbed to the top. Needed a bit more, so I stood on the top rung. The tree swayed, and the ladder fell. I plummeted through the tree, one foot caught on the wires, and I was suspended upside down by one foot. I had wire cutters, so I held onto the trunk and cut myself free. No real damage, but I realized I could have just as easily had it wrapped around my neck and hung myself.I hired a professional with a lift to finish the job. My wife was thrilled I listened to her. I didn't tell her what happened for three years. I still got yelled at."—Anonymous, 72, Wilson, Wyoming "My twin sister gave me a penny when we were 4 and told me it was chocolate. I ate it and began to choke. Our mom ran in and tried to give me the Heimlich maneuver, but my twin and I were laughing so hard that it was difficult for my mom to dislodge. But she did it, and I don't think pennies are chocolate anymore." —Anonymous, Old, East Coast "When I was around 3 years old, I woke up before everyone else in the house. I decided to wrap the strings of the blinds on my window around my neck. I started gasping for air, and luckily, my mom heard from her room a floor above and came to save me. I can't imagine what a horrible sight it would've been if she hadn't." —Anonymous, 40, Connecticut "In the '60s, we three teenagers were riding in a '32 Ford our friend was working on. Using cheap gas, and with no fuel filter, the fuel line would plug, stopping the car. It was getting dark, and we needed to get home or we'd be in trouble." "We needed to drain the fuel into a couple of jugs and blow it out of the line. Couldn't find a flashlight, but did find matches. So, yeah, we drained and blew out the line and poured the gas back in the tank, ALL by match light. Got home in time. Didn't think about it until our 10-year high school reunion, when telling the story to our wives, it hit us what we'd done."—Anonymous "I was gassing up my car in the winter. I noticed ice that was caked up around the fuel door. I took out my cigarette lighter and actually tapped the ice twice, before my one good brain cell kicked in." —Anonymous "Almost dying from alcohol poisoning at 15. Drinking hard alcohol right from the bottle is a terrible idea. Lucky to be alive!" —Anonymous "When I was 9, I rode my bike down the hill I had at my childhood home. The hill connected to a road. There was a car going on that road. I almost got run over. Luckily, I dodged in time. I never went down that hill again." —Anonymous And finally: "I was cleaning the wall behind the stove with a wet scouring pad and decided that the outlet needed cleaning too. I'm so glad my breaker was working; still got a good shock though." —Anonymous IDK about you, but I feel kinda dazed reading some of these! Please leave all your thoughts in the comments below. Or, better yet, share your own dumb near-death story! I love reading these. If you have a story to tell but prefer to stay anonymous, you can check out this anonymous form! Besides, who knows — your comment could be included in a future BuzzFeed article. Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Yahoo
Goldfish Swim School encourages early swim lessons to prevent drownings
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Goldfish Swim School in Amherst is joining a global effort to raise awareness about swim safety as part of The World's Largest Swim Lesson, an annual drowning prevention event. The school offers free lessons to local families while sharing water safety tips. General Manager Nick Patterson said starting children in swimming lessons as early as four months old is critical. 'That's why we open our doors at four months old and continue up to 12 years,' Patterson said. 'Getting kids involved in the water early means that by age one to four, they're able to swim on their own, without floaties of course, with parent supervision.' According to Patterson, drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4. He said lessons can reduce the risk by 88 percent. Instructors teach practical life-saving skills, including the 'sea otter back float,' which helps children float and breathe if they find themselves struggling in the water. 'All they need to do is roll over to their back so they can get that rescue breath and continue swimming to safety,' Patterson said. Children are also taught how to safely exit the pool using a technique called the 'fin-fin belly flipper.' 'It's grabbing the wall with both arms, putting their belly against the wall, and guiding their leg out of the water to push them up to safety,' he said. Beyond physical safety, Patterson said early swimming education helps build confidence in the water, especially for families where parents never learned to swim themselves. 'A lot of parents bring their kids here because they grew up scared of the water and don't want that for their children,' Patterson said. The school also recommends parents dress their children in bright-colored swimsuits for visibility and ensure they wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket near open water. Whether heading to the pool, lake, or any body of water this summer, experts say ensuring your child can swim is one of the best ways to keep them safe. For more information on swim classes, click here. Gwyn Napier is a reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Cracker Recalls That Affected Millions
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Crackers have been around since time immemorial, albeit not in the same snackable form as we know them today. Dating back to ancient civilizations, crackers of that time were most likely flatbreads made from flour and water. The first modern crackers were introduced in 1792, which he later sold as Crown Pilot Crackers, a product that was only discontinued in 2008. While the recipes for commercially sold crackers vary, these bite-sized treats are characterized by a crispy texture and a savory flavor profile. However, regardless of their shape or flavor, crackers are not immune to mishaps. From mislabeling to contamination with foreign materials, even popular cracker brands like Ritz and Goldfish have been pulled off the shelves to protect consumers from injury, illness, or allergic reactions. On one occasion, crackers have even been withdrawn from the market after a trademark dispute. Curious about some of the biggest recalls in cracker history? Take a look at our roundup of the most significant safety scares that involved this popular snack! And if crackers aren't your thing, why not check out our article on some of the biggest chocolate recalls that affected millions. Read more: 6 Nuts To Stop Eating And 8 To Choose Instead Despite their evocative name, oyster crackers don't contain any shellfish. Instead, the small crackers got their name because they were often eaten alongside oyster stews and clam chowders. Today, the wheat-based crackers are still commonly enjoyed with soups and stews, as well as other warm and filling dishes like savory chili. Unfortunately, in February 2025, oyster crackers became the center of a food safety recall when Ohio-based Shearer's Foods pulled them from grocery store shelves due to fears of metal contamination. In total, over 15,000 cases of the crackers were recalled under a range of brand names, including Market Pantry, Great Value, Giant Eagle, and Vista. The products had been shipped to Walmart, Target, and Giant Eagle stores in 24 states. The FDA gave the Shearer's Foods oyster cracker recall a Class II designation, which applies to products that "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote." It's unclear how the stainless steel wire metal fragments ended up in the crackers. TreeHouse Foods specializes in the manufacturing of private label foods and beverages. The company's products include coffee, pretzels, cookies, cheeses, powdered beverages, broths, stocks, and, of course, crackers. In August 2023, TreeHouse Foods' crackers faced negative publicity after fragments of metal were found in Trader Joe's-branded crackers with sunflower and flaxseeds. In total, the recall affected more than 13,000 cases — or close to 200,000 pounds — of the product. Luckily, no injuries were linked to the vegan snack at the time. Trader Joe's isn't new to recalls, with two other product withdrawals taking place just a month before the Multigrain Crackers with sunflower and flaxseeds incident. In July 2023 Trader Joe's recalled its Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies over concerns that the biscuits may contain rocks. The other recall that took place that same month involved Trader Joe's Broccoli Cheddar Soup due to the possibility that it may contain insects. To learn more about the chain's recalls, take a look at our article on the biggest recalls in Trader Joe's history. Featuring a range of cute animal shapes, Publix GreenWise Animal Crackers are a fun snack for both adults and kids. Considering how innocuous the product appeared, the 2022 announcement that it might be harboring an undeclared allergen took many consumers by surprise. More specifically, Toufayan Bakery's Publix GreenWise Animal Crackers were flagged due to the possibility that they contained coconut, an undeclared allergen that could have triggered severe health issues in sensitive individuals. Tree nuts are one of the FDA's nine major allergens, alongside milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. The mislabeled 8-ounce pouches of Publix GreenWise Animal Crackers had been sold at Publix Supermarkets in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. While it's not exactly clear how the coconut may have ended up in the product, the contamination was attributed to a "temporary breakdown in the production and packaging processes." Despite their advertised flavor profile, Back to Nature Cheddalicious Cheese Flavored Crackers contain no actual cheese or dairy-based ingredients. Instead, these crunchy bites are completely vegan, relying on plant-based ingredients to replicate the cheddar flavor so beloved by consumers. The crackers are also free of GMOs, artificial colors, artificial flavors, high-fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils. In 2022, Back to Nature Cheddalicious Cheese Flavored Crackers came under scrutiny after they failed to deliver on their dairy-free promise. More precisely, it was discovered that certain batches of the crackers contained both undeclared milk and eggs. The mislabeled products had been shipped to Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Luckily, no adverse health issues were linked to the products at the time, with the recall issued "out of an abundance of caution." Undeclared allergens are one of the most common reasons for food being pulled off supermarket shelves in the U.S. Whether it's peanuts, wheat, milk, or soybeans, even trace amounts of some ingredients can have disastrous consequences for individuals suffering from severe food allergies. This is why proper and transparent labeling is so critical. One case of mislabeling that could have proven fatal took place in 2021, when Simple Mills, a brand known for its gluten-free and nutrition-conscious snacks, announced a recall of its Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers. The issue arose when boxes of the product were mislabled and accidentally filled with Farmhouse Cheddar Almond Flour Crackers, which contain milk. Simple Mills was alerted about the mix-up by a consumer who discovered the blunder. Fortunately, only one individual reported experiencing mild symptoms after eating the mislabeled product. Introduced by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) — today a subsidiary of Mondelēz Global — in 1934, Ritz crackers were marketed as a budget-friendly luxury snack during the Great Depression. It wasn't long before the buttery, slightly flaky biscuits became a hit with consumers, taking the spot as the top selling cracker globally by the end of the 1930s. Building on this success, today Ritz offers a wide range of cracker flavors and format choices like hot honey, zesty herb, and sour cream and onion. One of the Ritz variants is the Ritz Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, which combines two buttery crackers with a cheese filling. In 2020, the popular product drew public attention after Mondelēz Global was forced to pull it off the shelves due to the possible presence of an undeclared allergen. The issue arose due to mispackaging. More specifically, some boxes labeled as Ritz Cheese Cracker Sandwiches actually contained Ritz Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers. Peanut butter is a known allergen that can trigger potentially life-threatening reactions in those sensitive to the ingredient. No adverse health issues had been linked to the product at the time — perhaps because the packaging featured a label warning that the so-called cheese crackers "may contain peanuts." Launched by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), now under the umbrella of Mondelēz Global, in 1955, Cheese Nips Baked Snack Crackers were invented to compete with Sunshine Biscuits' Cheez-It crackers, which had been on the market since 1921. Known for their crunchy texture and rich cheddar flavor, the Nabisco snack did reasonably well until 2019, when it became the subject of a nationwide recall. Mondelēz Global issued the product recall due to fears of possible plastic contamination. To be more precise, it was discovered that some of the Cheese Nips may have been tainted with "food-grade yellow plastic pieces" that had dislodged from the dough scraper used in their manufacturing process. No injuries or adverse health effects had been connected to the product at the time of the recall. If you would like to find out more about some of this company's other blunders, take a look at our roundup of Nabisco recalls that affected millions. The founder of Pepperidge Farm, Margaret Rudkin, was a force to be reckoned with. Not only did she teach herself to bake nutritious, preservative-free bread after her son started to develop food allergies, but she turned what she learned into a thriving business. She also authored a 1963 "Pepperidge Farm Cookbook" and was the first woman to serve on the board of directors of the Campbell Soup Company after it acquired Pepperidge Farm in 1961. Rudkin was also the business mind behind the launch of Goldfish Crackers in the U.S. in 1962, after she discovered them on her vacation in Switzerland. Today Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish Crackers come in a range of flavor variants. Unfortunately, four of these had to be recalled in 2018 due to potential contamination with salmonella. The pulled flavors included Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheddar, Flavor Blasted Sour Cream & Onion, Goldfish Baked with Whole Grain Xtra Cheddar, and Goldfish Mix Xtra Cheddar + Pretzel. Pepperidge Farm issued the recall after learning that the whey powder, which was used to season the crackers, may have been contaminated when it was manufactured at Associated Milk Producers. One suspect ingredient can taint a range of products — including ones made by completely different companies. That is precisely what happened in 2018, when Mondelēz Global joined Pepperidge Farm in issuing a recall after being alerted to the possible salmonella contamination in the whey powder supplied by Associated Milk Producers. The suspect ingredient was used to season a range of the company's Ritz Bitz and Ritz Cracker Sandwiches. The precautionary recall took place in the U.S., as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Salmonella can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain. While healthy adults usually recover without complications, the impact of the bacterial infection can be much more serious for certain individuals. For instance, children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are at a particular risk, with the pathogen possibly even leading to hospitalization and death. May Flower International is a distributor of Asian food products, including snacks, pickles, sauces, seasoning, flour and rice noodles, and frozen food. In 2018, the New York-based company recalled 4.4-ounce packages of 3+2 Soda Crackers due to the risk that they could contain undeclared milk. Just like their name suggests, 3+2 Soda Crackers consist of three layers of soda crackers separated by two layers of filling. Once imported to the U.S., the 3+2 Soda Crackers were distributed nationally, making the recall more complex, as the mislabeled products could be found in grocery stores across a wide area. The presence of milk — an ingredient not listed on the packaging — was discovered after routine testing by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors. While there were no reports of any consumers being sickened by the crackers at the time, the product could have had disastrous consequences for individuals allergic to dairy. Just some of the symptoms of a milk allergy include vomiting, diarrhea, and rash. In the worst case scenario, a severe allergic reaction to the product can even lead to anaphylactic shock. Mars Chocolate North America — which merged into Mars Wrigley Confectionery in 2017 — is best known for its Mars chocolate bars. The popular caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate confection was launched in 1932 in the U.K, and has since become a staple grocery item around the globe. The 2016 recall had nothing to do with Mars Bars, instead centering on cracker-based snacks, including Combos Cheddar Cheese Pretzel, Cheddar Cheese Cracker, Pizzeria Pretzel, Sweet and Salty Caramel Pretzel, Pepperoni Cracker, and Buffalo Pretzel. The products were pulled off the shelves due to potential contamination with peanuts, a known allergen that can trigger potentially life-threatening reactions in sensitive individuals. Mars Chocolate North America raised the alarm after one of its suppliers, Grain Craft, issued a recall of the wheat flour used in the products, warning that it was likely to contain traces of peanuts. The products had been distributed nationwide, as well as in the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Unlike most other recalls, which involve product contamination or undeclared allergens, the 1998 Nabisco recall of the company's Cheese Nips CatDog crackers centered around a legal issue. Manufactured as a part of the promotion of Nickelodeon's animated TV show "CatDog," the snack featured fish-shaped Cheese Nips crackers, which Pepperidge Farm claimed looked too much like its trademarked Goldfish Crackers. Pepperidge Farm initiated a lawsuit over this similarity, claiming that Nabisco infringed on its trademark fish-shaped cracker brand. The judge sided with Pepperidge Farm, ordering Nabisco to stop production and recall any Cheese Nips CatDog crackers that may have already found their way onto grocery store shelves. The judge also instructed Pepperidge Farm to post a $3.55 million bond to safeguard Nabisco against any potential losses if the decision was overturned. While the ruling threw a wrench into Nickelodeon's promotional plan with Nabisco, the network continued its "CatDog" advertising with other partners, including Kraft Foods and Burger King. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
