An Oklahoma company has developed a kind of protective blanket for students to drape over themselves (actually, strap onto their backs) in places where underground tornado shelters are not available at the school site.

It uses a lightweight, high density type of plastic to act like ballistic armor against flying debris as well as to help cushion blunt force trauma.

This is one article about it. No photos of the product in this article. Not cheap at $1,000 per blanket, but still cheaper than constructing a proper tornado shelter big enough for the entire student body.

I hate to say it, but considering the crazy world we live in nowadays, its ballistic qualities could also probably help in an active shooter situation in a school to buy some time. The article mentions that the blanket performs to Class IIIA level although not sure that was an official DOJ test they mention.

Didn't Mythbusters do something like that??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ2vGUXhNSY

Manufacturer website: bodyguardblanket.com

If I see any bright red kites flying around in the next tornado, as least now I'll know what they are.



http://www.bodyguardblanket.com/pages/bgourcompany.html

It's March 32, right?

Roofs, walls, furniture - I don't see how these prevent crush injuries which are the major cause of injuries and deaths in tornados. Bite the fiscal bullet and build the d*mn shelters...

second the motion....the blanket is an imperfect solution.

Given 15 minutes of thought, we could probably come up with a much cheaper solution using something more common or multi-use.

Imperfect? I would go a bit further. This is a perfect solution to separate taxpayers from their money for absolutely NO gain.

Tornado protection? How is a tiny blanket going to protect someone and stay in place when the wind is is strong enough to blow furniture around?

Ballistic protection? Isn't using a bright red blanket a little like waving a bright object in front of a raging bull?

The "crazy world" we live in is one in which snake oil is purchased by those who should know better. "Think about the children"???

From the picture, it looks like the students would be better off climbing into their lockers.

I think it is a case of someone having a product already, and trying to market it for something else. There have been a few companies developing products as a result of school shootings, and this seems like one of them from the description of the pad/blanket. It is certainly not cost effective, and not very helpful for a tornado. Bullet resistant materials are not generally so resistant to punctures and they do not offer much padding by themselves. From what I know of tornadoes, blunt force trauma is the most common cause of death, not fast flying objects so much. At that price you could build many suitable shelters for an entire school.

I cant see this being of much use.
A blanket or similar can not stop someone being killed if heavy debris falls on them.If a heavy roof beam for example falls, it is liable to crush the victim to death, and no flexible "shelter" would save them.
Neither can it stop the victim being picked up by the wind and subsequently being thrown with lethal force against structures or the ground. Indeed this product might Increase the risk by acting as a wind sail or kite.

It would give some protection against small fast moving projectiles, not just bullets, but also broken glass etc.
If protection against a mad gunman is in fact the main idea, then as others post "shoot me red" is not a good choice.

A proper tornado shelter should also last many years without significant furthur expense. These blankets will get lost, stolen, used for other purposes, and presumably require periodic replacement at significant expense.
After a few years without a tornado, I have little faith in the blankets actualy being on hand for instant use when needed.

This is the country that invented "duck and cover" as a system to prevent injury to schoolchildren in the event of thermonuclear explosions. Do not dismiss the marketability of a tornado blanket in such an environment.

In both cases, it would be equally useful to issue a body bag to each student, labelled as "safety cocoon", and schedule monthly cocoon-donning drills.

Sounds like a scam to get to some hapless school official to waste some federal grant money.