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A Sleeping Giant by Marshall Peterson

We share a great amount of information with employees and customers alike to ensure safe interaction with the gases and cylinders we sell. The following poem creatively illustrates the potential danger of pressurized gas. Some of you may recognize this as we have it posted in our store, as well as on our website. Though we do not intend to scare anyone away from using helium or the like, it's important to recognize the risks associated with gas under pressure. It commands great care and respect, as you'll see.


A Sleeping Giant


I am a compressed gas cylinder.
I weigh in at 175 pounds with or without gas.
I am pressurized at 2,200 pounds per square inch (psi).
I have a wall thickness of about ¼ inch.
I stand 57 inches tall.
I am 9 inches in diameter.
I wear a cap when not in use.
I wear valves, gauges, and hoses when at work.
I wear many colors and bands to tell what tasks I perform.
I transform miscellaneous stacks of material into glistening ships and many other things when properly used.
I transform glistening ships and many other things into miscellaneous stacks of material when allowed to unleash my fury unchecked.
I am ruthless and deadly in the hands of the careless or uninformed.
I am too frequently left standing alone on my small base with my cap removed or lost by an unthinking workman.
Then I am ready to be toppled over, my naked valve can be snapped off and all of my power can be unleashed through an opening no larger than a lead pencil.

I am proud of my capabilities!! Here are a few of them:
  • I have been known to jet away faster than any dragster.
  • I smash my way through brick walls with the greatest of ease.
  • I fly through the air and reach distances of half a mile or more.
  • I spin, ricochet, crash, and slash through anything in my path.
  • I scoff at the puny efforts of human flesh, bone, and muscle to change my erratic course.
  • I can, under certain conditions, rupture or explode – you read of these exploits in the newspapers.

You can be my master only under my terms:
  • Full or empty, see to it that my cap is on, straight and snug.
  • Never...I repeat, never leave me standing alone.
  • Keep me in a secure rack, in a corner, or tie me so that I cannot fall.

TREAT ME WITH RESPECT...FOR I AM A SLEEPING GIANT


-Marshall Peterson A.M.A



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