InformationWeek just published a story that strikes me as rather silly.  The article, entitled Computers: A Rising Health Hazard, contains an image of a wheelchair and begins ominously:

Computers may be harmful to your health, not only in terms of repetitive stress injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, and vision issues, but also as dangerous obstacles.

Researchers have documented a more-than-sevenfold increase in computer-related injuries arising from tripping over computer equipment, head injuries from falling computer monitors, and other collisions with computers, according to a study scheduled to appear in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal Of Preventive Medicine.

The article goes on to describe some of the most common methods of injury:

Some of the most common methods of injury include colliding with computer equipment, catching computer equipment ("Here, toss me that laser printer ..."), tripping or falling over computer equipment, standing where falling computer equipment lands, and muscle strain following attempts to lift or carry computer equipment.

Really?  This is news?

Of course, it is possible to trip over a computer.  (Just as it is possible to trip over a tennis shoe or a flower pot.)  And, of course, it is possible to get injured when you trip over anything, including a computer.  The study looked at the increase in injuries from computers from 1994 to 2006 and found the greatest number of injuries occurred in the home (which is also where there was the greatest increase in the number of home computers, of course.)

The study did point out that the rate of injury increased faster than the rate of new computer purchases by about a factor of two, but this is not surprising either.  In the early days of home computers, the computer was a special, expensive purchase.  It was typically located at a special computer desk, often in the "computer room" of the house.  But over time, computers became cheaper, more common, and less sacred—and more likely to be placed in high-traffic areas of the home, where they can be tripped over (or even "tossed" to somebody, I guess.)

Perhaps, soon we'll see someone selling child safety computer helmets.