The cramped, loud machine

I'm an old pro when it comes to MRI's. I've had three now, and although I may sometimes wake from a nightmare of being stuck in a small space or a small dress that I can't get out of, I don't even flinch when I'm in the machine. Actually, even the first time I didn't flinch from any claustrophobic reaction, as much as I did when the "kind of loud" noise of the machine completely drowned out the music they had piped in on the headphones on my head. Why even play music if I can't hear it for all the "HMMMMG!!!" "BRAAAPP", and "WAGAWAGAWAGA" of the machine?

But even though I'm cool and collected in the MRI machine, I can't help but worry each time whether I've forgotten some piece of metal that my body has acquired since my last MRI. I routinely forget things that happened yesterday, these days, and I always worry a bit when the first sounds start on the machine about whether or not some tattoo I forgot I got is going to get ripped off my thigh and go flying towards the walls of the machine.

Physicists shouldn't really be allowed to understand how machines they are lying inside of work. It just makes you nervous. And the question on the intake form about permanent make-up? Yikes. Do I have to imagine what could happen to some unfortunately eyebrow-laden woman if she forgets and goes in that machine?

I know it is a strong magnet, but would a navel piercing rip out of my belly button and fly to the wall of the machine, only to fall back down on the person crying in pain once the tech shut off the machine? Ew. Of course, I'm probably just overreacting to what could happen, right? Because nothing feels that weird during the MRI exam. How strong is that magnetic field anyway.

And Google responds....apparently, wheelchairs and even floor-polishers have been sucked into those machines. And beware the foil-backed nicotine patch. Should you care to indulge your curiosity further, I leave you with this webpage. And no matter how many times I've been in one of those machines, next time I have an MRI, I will once again the technician ask about all my fillings - probably one by one.