Off Topic but, might learn

[David Roth weiss]

Flash bulbs and strobes can cause some people with epilepsy to have seizures.

[Blub06]

I can understand that flash bulbs and strobes can cause some issues due to their brightness, speed and general all encompassing nature when they go off, but, flash bulbs and strobes going off on TV? It seems hardly the same thing. My TV, no mater how bright can hardly produces a flash effect.

Chris

Ps. Did you know that when a strobe does go off it produces the chemical compound O3, which is Ozone and is poisonous.

[Shane Ross]

A fast succession of flash bulbs can be represented really well on TV, and that rapid succession of flashes, viewed on a TV, has been known to cause seizures to people who have epilepsy.

We had to have Visual Effects of a flickering tube of energy changed because of this.

it is a WELL known issue.

[Stuart Simpson]

It’s a UK health and safety law.

Any programme or event that has flashing lights/flash photography/strobe lighting has to have a warning as this can trigger photosensitive epilepsy in some individuals. You see signs for this outside some theatre shows as well. I’ve seen a crazy stobe effect on some footage with a lot of papperazi taking flash photos.

Check here for more details: https://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/51-1.htm

” Flicker sensitive epilepsy is a rare condition which may be triggered by a variety of environmental factors of which the television is the most potent source.”

-Simmie
1 G5 – Cinewave
5 G4s – Cinewave
1 xbox, 1 PS2 & a Gamecube
https://www.speak.co.uk

[Kevin Monahan]

Yeah. Don’t you remember the Simpsons episode where they go to Japan and Bart freaks out when he watches “Battling Seizure Robots”?

More!
>> “Battling Seizure Robots!”

Cole Reiger offers: Here’s an explanation for the whole seizure scene … In
part, it’s true. If you broadcast a TV signal that flashes between red and
blue at a certain frequency you can cause the viewers to have convulsions
and seizures. This was discovered by a Japanese TV show called Pokemon.
I’m not sure if the show the Simpsons were watching was it, in fact I’m
certain it’s wasn’t.

Fred Briere: It doesn’t need to be specific colors; flashing any two
contrasting colors in the spectrum (like black and white) in a rapid
succession is enough to provoke a seizure for some people.

[It] certainly wasn’t Pokemon. 🙂 If you look at the screen, it was aptly
named “Seizure”.

Michael Inez Orikasa: That whole “Fighting Seizure Robots” scene, with all of
OFF spasming, was obviously inspired by the events in Japan after the
showing of a Pocket Monsters (a.k.a. Pokemon) episode known as “Computer
Warrior Porygon.” Somewhere in that infamous episode was a part where
Pikachu emitted a four second flash of various colors … a four second
flash that caused some 700 people to go into seizures.

I doubt that any of OFF would really have been affected by the flashes in
either case, owing to the normal TV watching conditions in America (bigger
rooms, lots of flashing effects on MTV and the like, etc.) It’s not likely
this scenario will be repeated here, since all the flashes on the US
airings of Pokemon have been dimmed and limited to two frames … and the
infamous episode has no plans of being aired or sold on video.

Ryan Mead: More seizures were inflicted when a Japanese news station had a
story on the seizures — and stupidly showed the controversial clip.

Dale G. Abersold adds: The episode that caused the convulsions (entitled
“Electric Soldier Porygon”) has never been officially aired in the U.S.,
along with a few others that were held back because of content that is more
adult than one usually sees in American children’s programming. So your
only chance to see the big, scary, convulsion-inducing program is to find a
bootleg …

Syndey Assbasket notes the phenomenon is not unique to “Pokemon”: It has been
known before the Pokemon craze in America that a few kids had seizures
because of the bright flashing lights in Japanimation.

On a related note, Jeff Cross explains: In one of his “Official Handbooks of
Practical Jokes,” Peter van der Linden says that a strobe light set above
25 flashes a second will cause seizures in people; apparently the nerves
shut down instead of trying to keep up. Why a cartoon will have a flashing
strobe at that frequency is beyond me.

Sarah Culp gives us more about “Pokemon”: Awhile ago, a Japanese cartoon
show, “Pocket Monsters” caused a nationwide epidemic of seizures during a
flashing-light sequence. Several months later, “Pocket Monsters” entered
America as “Pokemon”, and became an extreme fad among the elementary and
middle school set as a television show, a video game, and a trading card
line. The show is about a young boy and his two friends, who set out to
become the world’s greatest Pokemon trainers, “Pokemon” being cute little
animals who fight using electricity, fire, and other elements. The show
bears zero resemblance to the superhero-robot monstrosity shown in OFF.

So there ya have it….;-)

Kevin Monahan
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