Is it possible

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Cath@VWXYNot?

that ten years of wearing a bike helmet twice a day, for 15-30 minutes at a time, has permanently deformed the bones in my skull?
There seems to be a flat spot at the top of my forehead where no flat spot should be. Its position and size exactly match those of the little plastic thingy inside the front of my helmet. I’ve had many different helmets in the last ten years, but they’ve all had that little plastic thingy in basically the same spot.
I’ve always had a very impressionable face – at school I’d be the one with safety goggle marks still on my face two or three hours after leaving the chemistry lab – but today is the first time I’ve noticed this suspected bone deformity…

About Cath@VWXYNot?

"one of the sillier science bloggers [...] I thought I should give a warning to the more staid members of the community." - Bob O'Hara, December 2010
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4 Responses to Is it possible

  1. Anna Kushnir says:
    September 3, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    Just to clarify, there was never any actual impact upon the helmet, correct? You didn’t happen to fall on your head, thus denting your skull?
    Just kidding about all that, btw. Does it [the dent] hurt?

  2. Cath Ennis says:
    September 3, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    I’ve never fallen on my head – my only fall off my bike (as an adult) resulted in a rather spectacular superman dive along the hailstone covered path, with my final position being about ten metres from that of the bike. However I did once have the security barrier at my PhD lab’s campus entrance come down on my head (this happened to every cyclist at some point, including my supervisor). It didn’t hurt though, and neither does my skull dent…

  3. Jon Moulton says:
    September 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    Just chalk it up with the funny oval tan spots on the back of one’s occasionally-bike-gloved hands. Or the recalcitrant grease mark on the right inseam of one’ trouser leg. Or, if one is so lucky as to ride frequently and long enough, the shifter callous. It’s about being one with the bike.

  4. Cath Ennis says:
    September 3, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    The recalcitrant grease mark is why I wear specially designed women’s cycling capris (spring-autumn) and lycra leggings (winter)! Although I do have classical guitarist’s fingernails (short on left hand, long on right hand) and kayaker’s tan (under chin, bottom of ears, wrist to second knuckles).
    It’s amazing how much you can tell about a person from their various injuries and other distinguishing marks.

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