Interesting Fact: Doing CPR to “Stayin' Alive” is Dangerous

Remember being in high school and having to learn CPR in gym class? Pressing your palms against a smelly, plastic dummy and pretending to blow air into its rubbery mouth? We were taught that in emergency situations where someone was choking, we could resuscitate them back to life with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth —still a fact, continue to do so if someone is choking.

It was commonly said that doctors recommended performing CPR to the tempo of the Bee Gees' disco hit “Stayin' Alive,” as the tempo of the song is 103 beats per minute. Not to mention how funny and ironic it is to save someone to a tune with that title. However, a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal suggests this is actually a very dangerous idea. Why? Turns out that those conducting CPR to the track were doing it too slowly and not compressing deep enough.

So there you have it. Don't perform CPR to “Stayin' Alive.” You could kill someone.