Question:Did the classic James Bond movie "Goldfinger" get it right when Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) died after being dipped in liquid 14-carat gold? Could skin suffocation really happen?
Answer: This is largely urban legend, though Shirley Eaton's autobiography explains that the filmmakers believed their own script, for they left a patch of her abdomen unpainted, says Steven Connor in "The Book of Skin." "She died of skin suffocation," said Bond to his spymaster M. "It's been known to happen to cabaret dancers. It's all right so long as you leave a small bare patch at the base of the spine to allow the skin to breathe."
Actually, the skin doesn't breathe and does not draw its oxygen from the air. If it did, wearers of tight support stockings for varicose veins would be in trouble, as would swimmers who stay mostly underwater for long periods. And occlusive ointments such as vaseline are frequently prescribed to cover the entire body, but no one dies.
The germ of truth to the Bond tale, says University Of Pennsylvania dermatologist Dr. Michael S. Lehrer, is that such a covering can prevent sweating and cooling, and thus bring on heatstroke and death. Or the toxic chemicals in the gold or paint might themselves prove fatal.
But that's hardly the stuff of silver-screen legends.
Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at strangetrue@compuserve.com