This story was passed my way by regular reader and comment poster Carl, that left us both scratching our heads a bit. It'll also make you wonder how some researchers manage to get their grants as well.
The story is over on MSNBC and is entitled Study unveils likely cause of Mt. Everest deaths. The scientists behind this groundbreaking research have come to the conclusion that "A brain swelling condition related to low oxygen levels ... may have caused many of the deaths of people climbing Mount Everest". Shocking I know!
The study was led by a man named Paul Firth, who reveals other dangers that climbers face include extreme cold, high winds, unpredictable weather, avalanches and treacherous climbs. But, in his exhaustive study of over 200 deaths on Everest between 1921 and 2006, Firth noted that "Nobody was attacked by any Yeti or anything else".
There are a few interesting elements to the research, such as the fact that they found more cases of Cerebral Edema rather than Pulmonary Edema. Firth had expected the reverse to be true. The study has been published in the British Medical Journal apparently. (And yes, I purposely used the image of Everest from Disney World for this post. It seemed fitting)
While chatting about this story last night, Carl remarked that at first he thought he was reading something from The Onion, and with the Yeti comment I'd have to agree. The writing is a bit below the quality of The Onion though. ;)
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