Is there anybody who might appreciate a full body- squeeze in a huge mechanical vice?
A. In “Thinking in Pictures,” animal scientist and equipment designer Temple Grandin recounts how as an autistic child she always longed to be hugged but was terrified of human contact. She daydreamed of a “magic machine” that would squeeze her powerfully but gently, and always under her control. Then on her aunt’s farm, she noticed how calm cattle seemed when held in a “squeeze chute,” used for restraining them during vaccinations. Following a bad anxiety attack, Grandin herself got into the chute and had her aunt fasten the side panels and head restraint bars. “I felt a few moments of sheer panic, but five seconds later a wave of relaxation.” Still a schoolgirl, she was inspired to build the first human version of the squeezer, later enhanced into a body- sized V-shaped trough with padded sides and pressure controls, for use with autistics. Now Grandin says she crawls into the machine daily, feeling solace there and a love for others. Q. If you could stick an ear deep down into the o
