Hey, what ever happened to....

[scottyrocks]

I sing in several choirs, and let me tell you, that is arguably the most common places to see a person faint nowadays. People lock their knees, they stand motionless for 30-60 minutes at a time, often hot lights or the sun are beating down, and they're singing - and especially if they've been stupid and skipped meals - they can drop like flies. It's not a shock thing at all. Like Lizzie said, it's cutting off the blood to the brain; and standing still slows the circulation.

And my father fainted during Civil Air Patrol formation in high school. He just remembers feeling tired, then the next thing he saw was grass stretching away from before his eyes. He must have just fallen like a tree. And the poor guy's 6'8", so that's a long way to fall!

I completely forgot about this. My daughter sang in high school choir for 4 years. Durng one of their concerts, the risers were packed. The kids were all wearing their robes, and they were packed together pretty close. The room was getting warm. One of the underclassmen just buckled right there in the middle of the riser. He had to be carried/escorted out.

 

[jamespowers]

It even happens with the best! Probably the finest body of soldiers in the world on the Parade Ground (The Brigade of Guards - Grenadiers/Coldstream/Irish/Welsh/Scots) during the famous 'Trooping the Colour' in front of the Queen, often bears witness to men falling like trees. Ouch!

I doubt you would see The Wild Geese faint.

 

[Undertow]

That looks like something you'd see on the internet with the word "FAIL" underneath.

My dad told me how this happened now and again when he was in basic. I've also seen it happen with weightlifters using a leg press.

 

[Sunny]

I have also noticed how many Victorian or antebellum homes I have toured seem to always have what I guess they are really called....fainting couches.

I am not sure if that is their correct name, but that is what I always heard them called.

I think I need to move a fainting couch next to my desk at my newspaper office. Hearing all the shocking news I hear in one day, maybe a good faint would help me get through it all.

Heh, I've heard that, too, but only as a story. There's a LOT of fanciful and stereotypical claptrap about women and corsets in the nineteenth century. I think the usual name is chaise lounge or longue, and they've been around since the eighteenth century.

I completely forgot about this. My daughter sang in high school choir for 4 years. Durng one of their concerts, the risers were packed. The kids were all wearing their robes, and they were packed together pretty close. The room was getting warm. One of the underclassmen just buckled right there in the middle of the riser. He had to be carried/escorted out.

Yep, that's how it goes. They're always told to SIT DOWN if they feel bad, either right on the riser or just leave the stage; it's not worth toughing it out. I think several guys had hit their heads pretty hard when they've dropped unexpectedly, and one may have chipped a tooth. We tend to have more fainting and near-faints on choir tours, since kids are already tired, sometimes facilities are bad, and girls especially get stupid and skip meals.

The power of suggestion has a lot to do with it, too. James Dobson tells a story about a high school choir singing Battle Hymn of the Republic. Early in the song, one of the kids fainted but the director kept them going. Then another one went... and another! By the end of the song, I think one third of the entire choir had gone down.

My 6'8" brother had to sit down during another brother's wedding this summer, when he was best man. The sound guys had helpfully turned off the a/c because it was blowing the aisle runner so it was HOT especially for those in tuxedos, and the homily went a lot longer than we had expected. Mom said she looked up and he was a delicate green color that matched the walls - bad sign! He was standing up three stairs, too, so it would have been ugly if he'd fallen. The funny thing was that all but one of the other five groomsmen had also been in choir, so they were totally ready to catch him when he started to sway!

 

[Cricket]

Thanks Sunny! Now I know what to call them other than fainting couches. I still think I need one.

 

[Paisley]

I heard once that America's Funniest Home Videos (TV show) received tons of videos showing people fainting during weddings. Hilarious, no?

 

[scotrace]

Fainting might be over the top. But a good kiss can bring on a lovely swoon.

 

[jamespowers]

I heard once that America's Funniest Home Videos (TV show) received tons of videos showing people fainting during weddings. Hilarious, no?

Not if the videos are of you(in the general sense I mean).

 

[fortworthgal]

I've fainted twice in my entire life, and both times were due to stomach virus - my stomach was empty after multiple homages to the porcelain god, and my blood sugar plummeted. When you are about to faint, everything starts to go black really quickly - almost like a dimmer switch. The first time I was in high school, and was lucky enough to make it back into bed first. The second time (last year) I wasn't so lucky and my husband was awakened out of his sleep to the sound of me hitting the bedroom floor. Fainting is a very weird experience. Everything started to go black, so I knew what was coming. I was holding onto the bathroom counter for balance, let go of it and headed out of the bathroom thinking I'd be able to make it over to the bed only about 10 feet away. Next thing I know I'm lying on the floor and my husband is shaking me and telling me to get up. I don't remember going down at all, and I must have landed pretty hard to wake him up. lol How I didn't smack my head on a bookcase or something, I'll never know.

I heard once that America's Funniest Home Videos (TV show) received tons of videos showing people fainting during weddings. Hilarious, no?

I've seen this firsthand. The best man went down like a ton of bricks. He had a pretty bad hangover and I'm going to guess a combo of low blood sugar and the infamous knee-locking. Pretty entertaining, actually. (Does that make me a bad person?)

 

[fortworthgal]

That looks like something you'd see on the internet with the word "FAIL" underneath.

lol

 

[jamespowers]

I've fainted twice in my entire life, and both times were due to stomach virus - my stomach was empty after multiple homages to the porcelain god, and my blood sugar plummeted. When you are about to faint, everything starts to go black really quickly - almost like a dimmer switch. The first time I was in high school, and was lucky enough to make it back into bed first. The second time (last year) I wasn't so lucky and my husband was awakened out of his sleep to the sound of me hitting the bedroom floor. Fainting is a very weird experience. Everything started to go black so I knew what was coming. I was holding onto the bathroom counter for balance, let go of it and headed out of the bathroom thinking I'd be able to make it over to the bed, and next thing I know I'm lying on the floor and my husband is shaking me and telling me to wake up. I don't remember going down at all, and I must have landed pretty hard to wake him up. lol



I've seen this firsthand. The best man went down like a ton of bricks. Pretty entertaining, actually. (Does that make me a bad person?)

Well, it is an old tradition to laugh at others as long as it isn't you. An old Chinese philosopher once said happiness is getting your hair cut every few weeks and watching your neighbor fall off his roof. So being entertained is nothing new.
My mother once saw the neighbor across the street fall on his backside while trimming the hedge. She thought it was hilarious. lol lol lol lol
I once nearly fainted during a biology class but that was with just cause.

 

[fortworthgal]

Well, it is an old tradition to laugh at others as long as it isn't you. An old Chinese philosopher once said happiness is getting your hair cut every few weeks and watching your neighbor fall off his roof. So being entertained is nothing new.
my mother once saw the neighbor across the street fall on his backside while trimming the hedge. She thought it was hilarious. lol lol lol lol
I once nearly fainted during a biology class but that was with just cause.

In his defense, he did finish out the ceremony once he recovered from his face plant.

 

[de-stressed]

I once nearly fainted during a biology class but that was with just cause.

lol

Hopefully you weren't holding a scalpel or anything sharp!!

 

[HepKitty]

Well, it is an old tradition to laugh at others as long as it isn't you.

Years ago my sister had knee surgery and I walked up behind her and lifted the crutch right out from underneath her and she landed on her tush. Cracked me up but Mom was furious. *sigh* I guess I'm a bad person too [huh]

 

[jamespowers]

lol

Hopefully you weren't holding a scalpel or anything sharp!!

No, the idiot at the front of the class was. Blood was all over the overhead projector and it made a wierd pattern on it like a 60s hippie show. I had a hard time with the sight of blood, which I have overcome. [huh]

 

[jamespowers]

Years ago my sister had knee surgery and I walked up behind her and lifted the crutch right out from underneath her and she landed on her tush. Cracked me up but Mom was furious. *sigh* I guess I'm a bad person too [huh]

Oh geez. :eusa_doh:
My worst was laughing at my mother's neighbor trying to cut a two foot high lawn with an ancient lawnmower. I can still remember the last sound it made. RRRRRRRRRR Boom! It even let out a mushroom cloud after the engine went. lol lol It is still funny as I am laughing as I type. lol lol Did I mention that I reported him to community standards for having a two foot high lawn? lol
I still remember my mother blaming me for the incident and saying that the guy "will never finish mowing the lawn now!" He did. He bought a nice new one the next day. lol lol

 

[scottyrocks]

I've fainted twice in my entire life, and both times were due to stomach virus - my stomach was empty after multiple homages to the porcelain god, and my blood sugar plummeted. When you are about to faint, everything starts to go black really quickly - almost like a dimmer switch.

Ah, low blood sugar. Its been years since Ive had a full-blown insulin reaction, but yeah, thats what happens. Except I lose sight of reality first, along with the dimmer switch, then lights out, followed by the epileptic-like twitching.

Whether one likes the actors or not, both Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe played convincing diabetic insulin reactions in movies. I remember the first time I saw Roberts version, I cried and apologized to my wife, and later to my mother, for the very idea that they had to deal with that. Sorry if that sounds soppy, or sappy, but it was a big deal. I only tried to imagine a loved one in that situation. I wont watch those movies now, or least those parts.

 

[Dewhurst]

Fainting might be over the top. But a good kiss can bring on a lovely swoon.

"Oh my!"

slump

 

[Paisley]

Ah, low blood sugar. Its been years since Ive had a full-blown insulin reaction, but yeah, thats what happens. Except I lose sight of reality first, along with the dimmer switch, then lights out, followed by the epileptic-like twitching.

Whether one likes the actors or not, both Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe played convincing diabetic insulin reactions in movies. I remember the first time I saw Roberts version, I cried and apologized to my wife, and later to my mother, for the very idea that they had to deal with that. Sorry if that sounds soppy, or sappy, but it was a big deal. I only tried to imagine a loved one in that situation. I wont watch those movies now, or least those parts.

My mother is diabetic, and I can tell when she's been eating carbs. It's as if she's been drinking.

 

[Diamondback]

Guess I kinda BTDT--between fatigue and skipping lunch, I'd occasionally "black out" during high-school, usually passing between classes since that was when I was most physically active, and "having the throttles firewalled" while schlepping almost half my weight in texts and crap didn't help either.

Whole lot of cases where I found myself in class with no idea how I'd gotten there... but my story may not really have been fainting although it is related by also being "temporary loss of consciousness".

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