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October 7, 2002
Sterile?
Tomorrow I have to go back to the dentist for more X-rays. When I was there a few weeks ago, they took X-rays, cleaned my teeth, then decided that the X-rays they took weren't good, so they took them again. A week later I got a phone call saying they want more X-rays. At first I was concerned about the mounting cost, but then someone pointed out I should be more worried about the extra doses of radiation aimed directly at my head.
At least in this country (Canada) they give you lead shields to cover your sensitive parts. When I was living in Japan, I had the misfortune of breaking my left pinky finger. When they took the X-rays, they had me sit on a little stool and place my hand on a table. They then aimed the giant X-ray machine at my hand, then went and hid behind a protective wall before flooding the room with radiation. I immediately noticed how under the table, directly in the X-ray machine's line-of-sight was my unprotected crotch. I didn't know how to say "radiation-induced sterility" in Japanese, and they didn't seem to understand my frantic hand-gestures, so the X-rays went on as planned.
I wonder how many X-ray induced sterile men there are in Japan. Or, worse yet, sterile foreigners who were just passing through.