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The tragic sudden death of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, has taken a twist. The cause of death was initially withheld; now it has been reported that the 47-year old died while working out in a gym at a Mexican resort hotel. Goldberg was found by his brother lying next to a treadmill in a pool of blood, with a gash in his head; state officials believe the injury occurred after he fell off the machine. Meanwhile, the general manager at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita - denies that Goldberg was even a guest at the hotel or residences.
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Officials: SurveyMonkey CEO Died In Treadmill Accident
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Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
-- Lord Acton
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday May 06 2015, @09:38AM
Or something else? This story is full of weird and bad vibes.
I suppose a treadmill could cause death through some design element that seems innocent enough but is actually quite dangerous. Farm machinery used to be extremely hazardous. In many cases, the dangers were not recognized. The power takeoff was one such. Many people have had their clothes or hair caught in the shaft, and been yanked in and wrapped around it with bone breaking force. If that's the problem, I can certainly believe that the manufacturer is anxious to hush it up, and find something else, anything else to blame. Maybe they will find that he was drunk when the accident happened.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2015, @10:04AM
> I suppose a treadmill could cause death through some design element that seems innocent enough but is actually quite dangerous.
Youtube is full of vidoes labeled "treadmill fail."
All treadmills have a fail-safe that you are supposed to clip to yourself that will immediately halt all movement if you fall off. Most people never bother to clip it on because it is kind of a pita.
(Score: 5, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday May 06 2015, @11:01AM
Never used a threadmill myself, but if it's the way you describe it then they should change the clipping position on something else than the ass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:32PM
Is a threadmill is something that generates comment threads?
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:55PM
(Score: 4, Interesting) by GungnirSniper on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:36PM
Most people who use the clips are running faster than they think they can sustain, not just jogging or walking at a typical-to-them pace. It does seem likely from looking at the man's physique (a little heavy) and descriptions of his overwork (restarted each night after his kids were in bed) that he had a cardiac event, which prevented him from protecting his head in a fall.
All the money in the world is useless if you fail to protect your health.
Tips for better submissions to help our site grow. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2015, @02:47PM
> Most people who use the clips are running faster than they think they can sustain, not just jogging or walking at a typical-to-them pace.
Maybe that is true in practice, but that is not the intended use for the clips.
As proof I submit walking treadmills, none of which can go faster than 4mph and are generally operated in the 2mph range. They all have fail-safe clips. Here is one such example. [lifespanfitness.com]
(Score: 2, Touché) by WillR on Wednesday May 06 2015, @03:14PM
Spend your vacation sitting in the bar eating chips and drinking beer, drop dead of a heart attack at your desk the next week? "Failed to protect your health!"
Spend it running on the treadmill trying to get in shape, die anyway? "Failed to protect your health!"
(Score: 5, Funny) by zafiro17 on Wednesday May 06 2015, @11:09AM
It could have been something as simple as: guy on treadmill has a heart attack and dies instantly. His body falls over onto the ground and the treadmill continues to run, scraping a gash into his head, allowing blood to pour out (lots of blood comes out when it's a head wound).
That's the thing about heart attacks - they happen anywhere at any time. My cousin was a paramedic who says they found people dead on the toilet just about every week: sit on the throne to lay some cable, exert yourself, pop goes your ticker, and you're gone. Never mentioned it but I suppose if you die mid-crap, the crap just hangs there and slowly solidifies until they find your rotting corpse and a mummified turd hanging out your hole. Good times.
Oops - just read the article. "A state official said the cause of death was severe head trauma and hypovolemic shock, or bleeding." So, maybe he passed out and whacked his head on the way to the floor? He should have spent his time at the bar, then. Exercise is for suckers.
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Magic Oddball on Wednesday May 06 2015, @11:55AM
That's why they say to consult a doctor before starting any new exercise regimen. :-p A sudden heart attack killing the guy didn't surprise me much, though, as that's what killed Douglas Adams when he was only in his late 40s. That his also took place at a gym has always seemed fittingly ironic enough to belong in one of his stories. (I wonder if his last thoughts were, "oh no, not again.")
OTOH I *was* surprised to read that Elvis Presley died of a heart attack while taking a dump; IIRC he fell straight ahead off of the toilet in a way that left the body with pants around his ankles, face to the floor and butt up in the air. Not exactly the most dignified end...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2015, @06:16PM
I like your world view and would like to subscribe to your newsletter!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday May 06 2015, @11:21AM
Might have been dead before he fell off. My grandfather-in-law or however its phrased had a heart attack while raking leaves in the yard, doesn't necessarily imply a faulty lawn rake.
Could have also been kinda-in-between a direct cause and coincidental. You get a minor low level recoverable stroke or seizure while sitting at a desk, you'll probably survive. While up a ladder or on a treadmill, probably not.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Wednesday May 06 2015, @05:27PM
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 06 2015, @04:54PM
Yeah, the GM denies that he was a guest, so why was he in the gym?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday May 06 2015, @08:14PM
It's easier to kill a meatbag than you think:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-20861342 [bbc.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_brain_injury#Mortality [wikipedia.org]
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