I'm guilty of that one, more than once.  I can only imagine what the people driving behind me thought, with my hair flapping out the window.

<sigh>

LOL!

Luckily this hasn't happened to me. I usually don't wear my hair down when I go out, because it's really hot here and more practical to wear your hair up. But my aunt who has waist length hair and always wears it down will benefit from this advice!

Amusement Park Operator Killed in Wash.

.c The Associated Press

LANGLEY, Wash. (AP) - An amusement park operator was killed Saturday when his hair got caught on a roller coaster car, pulling him up as high as 40 feet before he fell, back-first, onto a fence.

Doug McKay, 40, was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the Super Loop 2, a ride at the Island County Fair on Whidbey Island, when his long hair got caught on a car full of fairgoers, sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith said.

``It basically scalped him, and he fell and landed on the fence,'' Smith said.

McKay, co-owner of Paradise Amusements, based in Post Falls, Idaho, was pulled between 25 and 40 feet into the air.

Paradise Amusements had set up rides at the Island County Fair, located about 30 miles northwest of Seattle, for the past three years, Smith said.

Smith said grief counselors were on hand but that the fair continued after the incident.

Isn't it tho?  :::shiver:::

LillyDale! What a horrible thing to do, putting gum in your hair!

Sometimes I feel like doing something like that to someone who has wronged me. But I find the results are always better to make the person like you, rather than be afraid of you. I have never had something THAT awful happen to me though!

It was a very good thing of you to first of all stick up for yourself, and secondly tell the vice principal about it. I hope you didn't get into much trouble!

'I can't believe I'll never have hair again'

She has not seen the extent of the damage, but 10-year-old Andrea Katzeff left knows she will never grow her own hair again.

And, after the recent failure of her second skin-graft, she is worried about what will happen next.

Andrea was scalped in a go-kart incident three months ago, when her waist-length hair got caught in the rear axle of the go-kart she was driving.

She has since undergone a number of operations to have her scalp restored and was due to go into theatre at the weekend to have her third skin graft.

'I am angry about what happened and I get upset sometimes'
Speaking to the Cape Times at the family's home in Welgemoed, she said: "I am worried about what will happen if the next skin graft doesn't take either. The last time, the skin had to be removed because of an infection. "

She is reluctant to speak about the accident and changes topics frequently, but said she remembers everything that happened on that Saturday night at the Indoor Grand Prix at Canal Walk.

"I am angry about what happened and I get upset sometimes when I think about it, but I don't hold any grudges."

She said she and the boy, a classmate who, along with his mother, took her to the Indoor Grand Prix without her parents' permission, remained good friends.

But, while Andrea puts on a brave face and tries to overcome the reality that she will never have hair again, her family knows how difficult it has been for her.

'Our lives have been turned upside down'
Andrea's mother, Natalie, said: "When she overheard the doctor telling me that she wouldn't have hair again, she was very upset. She cried and said, 'Mommy, I can't believe I'm never going to have hair again'."

Natalie said she does not want Andrea to see what her scalp really looks like and all she has seen so far are pictures taken shortly after the accident.

Natalie said doctors had shown her how to treat the wound, but when she first removed the bandages after the last unsuccessful skin graft, she was shocked.

"It was very difficult for me to do. I had never seen her scalp without the skin and now there is only a thin layer across her head. It has been a strain on the family, but we can all learn from Andrea who has been very strong throughout this. I know that as a family, we will get through this eventually. It is all about time."

Meanwhile, her father, Neill, said it was very frustrating.

"Initially, we were upbeat because we thought the skin graft would be successful, but at this stage, it is emotional and very hectic for us."

He said Andrea was happiest among her friends, but was not handling things well when she was on her own.

"She keeps asking questions about why this had to happen. She says she wants her hair back. She is very self-conscious about her wounds and chases me out of the room when her mother changes her bandages. Only her mother is allowed to see what she looks like," said Neill.

He said skin had been grafted from her buttocks and the sides of her body, which had been an "incredibly painful procedure" for her.

"Our lives have been turned upside down. It has been a nightmare, but we have to handle it," he said.

This article was originally published in South African newspaper, "The Daily News" on October 13, 2003

I'm curious what kind of "big hair" would distract the tiger to that extent.  I know the audience is very close to the stage in that show, but you would think the animals would be accustomed to the audience.