Harry Potter Books Provide “Distraction Therapy”

A study appearing in the British Medical Journal asserts that on the weekends during which the last two HP books were released, hospital emergency rooms in Britain received half the usual number of visits from 7- to 15-year-old children with traumatic musculoskeletal injuries. Unlike other “crazes” like inline skating and microscooters, reading the HP books (Editor’s note: and other books) does not expose children to “horizontal velocity, height, wheels, or sharp edges.”
The study concludes:

“We observed a significant fall in the numbers of attendees to the emergency department on the weekends that of the two most recent Harry Potter books were released. Both these weekends were in mid-summer with good weather. It may therefore be hypothesised that there is a place for a committee of safety conscious, talented writers who could produce high quality books for the purpose of injury prevention.
Potential problems with this project would include an unpredictable increase in childhood obesity, rickets, and loss of cardiovascular fitness.”

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