Mangos!

[Tommy T.]

Just a brief report here...

Yesterday, we were driving home from a visit to our property near Mintal.

As we were cruising along, a big mango apparently just dropped from an overhanging tree and smashed into the windshield of our car. It startled the s**** out of both of us! But, fortunately, it did not break or crack the windshield. Just another thing to beware of here. I guess that is another good reason to wear a helmet when riding a bike here???

Edited June 26, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Kuya John]

5 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

 

As we were cruising along, a big mango apparently just dropped from an overhanging tree and smashed into the windshield of our car.

Good job it wasn't a Jackfruit!

[JJReyes]

Mangoes are not problematic. By the time they fall from a tree, the fruit is already over ripe which means the outer flesh is soft and gooey. The only hard part is the center core. Jackfruits grow around the trunk and usually below 8 to 10 feet. The biggest problem are coconut trees. When fruits fall from 50 to 70 feet high, it can kill you. An old story is about a foreigner driving on the South Expressway when a passenger riding the bus in front threw the empty coconut shell out the window, smashed the windshield and killed him.

In Hawaii, government crews remove all the small fruits and flowers from coconut trees. There was an incident when a falling fruit killed a visitor. The family sued and received over $1 million. Private property owners likewise hire crews to remove coconuts from their property because of the potential liability.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

There was an incident when a falling fruit killed a visitor.

It would be interesting to see the link to this.  As Snopes says, the only actual death they could ever find a link to was in Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 28 July 1973.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coconuts-kill-more-sharks/

This does not mean that it does not happen.  It means the fear of it happening is much worse than the actual number of occurences and it is another case where people make up stats.

 

[JJReyes]

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

It would be interesting to see the link to this.  As Snopes says, the only actual death they could ever find a link to was in Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 28 July 1973.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coconuts-kill-more-sharks/

This does not mean that it does not happen.  It means the fear of it happening is much worse than the actual number of occurences and it is another case where people make up stats.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut

150 people are killed every year from falling coconuts, but this number comes from dubious sources.  It was mentioned to compare the number of deaths of beach goers from shark attacks as compared to falling coconuts.  But I have personally witnessed falling coconuts in the Philippines, so it is prudent for me to look up and determine if the coconut grove is regularly harvested for fresh buko or copra production before entering.

[Tommy T.]

Now I have to laugh... the topic has segued from mangos to coconuts... That's normal here and I am probably guiltier than the next...  but I guess fruit falling from trees is still the idea? Always beware of the unexpected that might injure or kill you here!

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

150 people are killed every year from falling coconuts, but this number comes from dubious sources.

In other words it is all hearsay

[Dave Hounddriver]

21 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

the topic has segued from mangos to coconuts.

Well, to be fair, more people in the Philippines are killed by cobras than by mangoes or coconuts. 

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

150 people are killed every year from falling coconuts, but this number comes from dubious sources.  It was mentioned to compare the number of deaths of beach goers from shark attacks as compared to falling coconuts.  But I have personally witnessed falling coconuts in the Philippines, so it is prudent for me to look up and determine if the coconut grove is regularly harvested for fresh buko or copra production before entering.

Well, to also be fair to JJ... I posted a comment about a year ago about a falling coconut hitting our car as we were cruising along the highway near Mati.... It struck the headlight and then the windshield. It broke the inside structure of the headlight (still to be replaced) but did not damage the windshield. Again...scared the s*** out of us.

Back in Seattle, the worry was always rocks and stones from trucks that caused cracks or other damage to the glass... So I guess Rosanne Rosanna Danna was quite correct...., "It's always something...!!!"

[JJReyes]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

Well, to also be fair to JJ... I posted a comment about a year ago about a falling coconut hitting our car as we were cruising along the highway near Mati.... It struck the headlight and then the windshield. It broke the inside structure of the headlight (still to be replaced) but did not damage the windshield. Again...scared the s*** out of us.

Back in Seattle, the worry was always rocks and stones from trucks that caused cracks or other damage to the glass... So I guess Rosanne Rosanna Danna was quite correct...., "It's always something...!!!"

The family farm in Tanay, Rizal has 1,200 mango trees so being hit by a falling, over ripe mango is not uncommon.  It usually happens after the harvest (slightly yellow, but still green and hard) because some fruits are concealed by leaves. After the leftover fruits ripen, look out. For safety, we have old fashion farmer's hats made out of bamboo and rattan. Construction hard hats would be better.

Our van, less than six months old, was hit by a small rock from a passing truck. The windshield had to be replaced and the replacement had to be flown in from Germany.  I was told if the crack is less than the size of a dollar bill, it can be repaired.

Edited June 27, 2020 by JJReyes