Doctors Warn Champagne Bottles Can Cause Eye Injuries
New Year's Eve is all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.
That's the takeaway from the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual year end warning on champagne bottles. According to the doctors, 'When a champagne cork flies, you really have no time to react and protect your delicate eyes." GAH! Shield yourself with the nearest anything!!!
"Champagne bottles contain pressure as high as 90 pounds per square inch - more than the pressure found inside a typical car tire," the group continued.
Depending on how the bottle had been handled, corks can fly at speeds of up to 50 MPH.
During past New Year's celebrations wayward corks have caused injuries such as acute glaucoma, damage to the eye's bone structure, dislocation of the lens, ocular bleeding, retinal detachment and the rupture of the eye wall. Uhhhh ... Happy New Year?
The reveler most at risk is actually the one tasked with opening the bottle. To prevent such a self-inflicted wound a champagne bottle should always be held at a 45 degree angle away from the face and towards somebody you don't really like. (Not that last part, it was just a joke. Seriously, don't point a champagne bottle at any face ever).
The academy also recommends holding a towel over the bottle while opening it. They also go full killjoy by suggesting not shaking the bottle up before de-corking it, which makes opening the bottle "safer," but also "less likely to turn your lame party into a rap video."