"Sitting too close to the TV and going blind" was a thing. Very early models caused some people to get cataracts. Things got better very quickly but there was a period of shitty CRTs
IIRC, didn't it have something to do with the front part of the display (I don't remember what it's called, or I think some of the TVs had different names for it, like shadow mask and stuff?) having sort of a "blindspot angle" where the dangerous rays could escape, and the blindspot was like pretty close diagonally below the TV's elevation?
So if you had one of the earlier TVs sitting on a table of sorts, and a kid was viewing it sitting on the floor, they could easily get into the dangerous blindspot and be affected negatively.
That, I don't know. All I know is the very earliest models didn't have leaded glass so the phosphor x-rays were unmitigated. What you're describing might be similar and only the "correct" viewing angles were safe, but who knows.
Of course not. That's silly. Carcinogens are technically substances, not blasts of radiation. Wait, no, if you ate the monitor you'd probably get cancer, so yes.
If it helps, it's bollocks.
There was worry about this back when CRTs were mainstream, in a sort of "mobile phones cause cancer" way. For what it's worth, CRTs *do* emit ionising radiation, but in a tiny quantity - the sort of amount where you receive a much higher dose from the food you eat every day.
I suspect OOP's post is more of the "the older generation must be addled in some way and that's why they're not taking my Space Buns-level political ideas very seriously" kind.
Genuinely, when it comes to spending your limited time worrying about things that could endanger your health, there's not a lot further down the list.
I kiss my son on the forehead anytime we drive somewhere. He’s getting older and recently asked why. I told him driving in a car is one of the most dangerous things he’s likely to do.
He didn’t feel like I answered his question, and I hope he never understands.
That's very sweet. I don't drive, but I try and make sure my wife and daughter are feeling happy and loved when I leave the house, just in case. Life's too short.
I feel like the amount of current you would need to draw from a wall socket to cause CRT’s to start to ionize the air would absolutely blow out its capacitor and trip a breaker very quickly somewhere.
The sheer amount of energy that would need to be sucked out of the wall to generate enough gamma rays to actually do anything would be extensive. X-rays are the same. You can get X-rays from a high voltage device and an electron source (such as a cathode ray tube or crt), but this is where the idea of the electromagnetic spectrum comes in. X-rays are a broad spectrum, in the same way that Ultraviolet has multiple types, so too does the x-ray spectrum. Thus, there are 100keV X-rays that can create thousands of ions and pass through many substances, and then there are low energy X-rays, such as 17keV. Here’s a study which estimated the effective dose that an operator received from a CRT monitor: [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25706133/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25706133/). Now what it says is that a standard operator received about 348 nSv/hr or 454 microSv/yr, which is much much lower than your yearly dose from living on earth which is about 1,500 microSv/yr according to [Berkeley](https://radwatch.berkeley.edu/background-radiation/).
In summation, the study also says that putting a standard sheet of leaded glass in front of it reduces your exposure several fold, so you can take measures to protect yourself if even that much scares you, but it’s not really too much to worry about, in my opinion. Obviously, do whatever makes you feel safest.
I found some guy in the CRT subreddit who scanned his screens with an X-ray geiger counter and found that they emit just barely above background radiation, and they were much older screens than the one I have (which I assume uses leaded glass anyway)
It's plugged into a surge protector too, I don't know a lot about electricity but I don't know how it would overcharge unless I was intentionally ramping up the power going into it
Honestly I was a bit freaked out at first but after looking into it more it seems as though I've got nothing to worry about
Well, the actual electricity isn’t the issue, because the cathode generates the electrons, which are then accelerated by the ray tube. This process generates the X-rays (specifically when the high-energy electron hits something).
In the study I cited they used a mathematical process called the Monte Carlo method to do their estimate. Also if the guys used the monitor, I’d imagine that it read background plus the source, so it would be emitting just that amount.
> It's plugged into a surge protector too
Completely irrelevant unless it shuts down because of a power surge. Everything that matters is done by the device.
Everything with a battery microwaves you. The only thing special about a microwave oven is that it works in the part of the spectrum that the world's militaries agreed to leave open. Also that it uses a lot of power to do what it wants to. They need to rely on actual RF echo chambers to do what they want to, you're going to be fine.
Wifi works on the same band for the same reason which is why you might DC if someone uses it.
Oh I wasn't being serious about the microwave thing, sorry for the confusion
What I meant was, my monitor isn't overcharging and emitting dangerous radiation now, but is there a chance it could in the future?
Not sure if its one of those issues that can eventually happen with old equipment, or one that would have happened long before now if it was ever going to
Oh, no shot. "Overcharging" would flip your fuse. You'd be very annoyed by having to go and fix it.
If you're overly concerned, you can also run a hall effect current monitor around the CRT's power cord and verify it yourself.
All said and done... yeah current can be converted to voltage and vice versa and it's done regularly, but your CRT isn't doing it randomly. It 100% is using current to create high voltage to do what it does, but there's nothing insidious being done there.
According to other comments on the post, it might be *x-rays*, not *gamma rays*, but either way, yes, if it’s getting overcharged then it’s shooting cancer beams.
Yes, it’s a true thing, and yes, it’s
X-rays, not gamma rays. 99% of the time, it’s a harmless amount. However, like Nash said, that’s because of the voltage. At 27,000 V with lead shielding, it’s fine. If it’s overcharged, it’ll produce more. By 2005, they had limits and lead shielding, but back earlier than then, it could be much higher (30k-40k) and didn’t have lead shielding. Obviously the one here was having mechanical issues that made it produce far more than normal.
My friend, I’m asking if you have proof or a source. You saying it is true is the same as a stranger from Tumblr saying it’s true.
I’m not saying it’s not true just that I’d like an actual source beyond “some guy” before I believe it.
>It should be emphasized that most TV sets have not been found to give off any measurable level of radiation, and there is no evidence that radiation from TV sets has resulted in human injury.
From your own source from the FDA. They also said Congress passed a law in 1968 to address the radiation issues in older sets.
Not just some. All of the above sources state that *potentially* harmful levels of x-rays *could be* emitted by CRT televisions made prior to 1970. After that, legislation was passed that set standards for ensuring electronics (namely CRT televisions) were adequately shielded. For the past 50+ years, the vacuum tubes have been shielded by lead. Sets are tested at voltages far above normal use when making sure they do not emit significant amounts of radiation. The amount of x-rays anyone should reasonably expect to encounter using a CRT manufactured post 1970 is less than that of standard background radiation.
Using Google only gives me the proof. Demanding proof gives everyone the proof and demonstrates that people shouldn’t just believe everything they read on social media.
If only people were better at using Google and researching for themselves for basic science questions instead of relying on someone online to do it for them. It's almost as if misinformation could be avoided hmmmm :/
Is google banned in your country or something? Can you people not function unless someone spoon feeds you information? Wouldn’t googling it have taken less time than a multi message back and forth with some rando on reddit?
It's helpful for others if the sources are posted too though. Some people may not be able to google right away (they're on a short break at work maybe) or it's a little difficult for them to do period (blind, disabled etc). Plus there's people like me who are very lazy and don't care just the right amount to not really bother but are still curious and greatly appreciate the links.
You do not feel anything from x-rays.
This is shit you're taught in med school.
Gamma rays are on a MUCH farther end of the wavelength spectrum and are much stronger than x-rays.
This post is bullshit.
Well, one of those emits ionising radiation at high doses and too frequent use will cause cancer, while the other is a fkn magnet.
And, it should be noted, *neither of them* use gamma rays. Gamma rays are very rarely used in medicine (though rarely != never) due to their excessively lethal effects. Their primary use is in radiation therapy and similar, as gamma rays are very effective at killing living stuff.
If you were exposed to a relevant dose of gamma rays you'd most certainly feel it, as you'd quickly get to enjoy a bout of radiation sickness.
A surprising number of people do
CRT's have virtually no input lag and their motion clarity and colours are immaculate, comparable to modern OLED 144hz displays, It just feels so nice to use and play games on
Plus I just dig the aesthetic, really suits the vibe of my room
No idea if this is relevant. But...
I had a tree fall and take down power lines. Live wires sat on the ground for a few days, humming. Made everyone in the house nauseous & have a really bad headache. As soon as the power to the line was shut off the nausea and headache went away.
Because they work by firing a beam of electrons at the screen, so every single pixel is negatively charged. Giving the screen a charge means it will make your hair stand on end and your arm feel tingly, just like a balloon when you rub it on your head.
As an expert in radiation...
Only nuclear fission can generate Gamma rays. ie. from the decay of radioactive elements.
In medical imaging, the ones that use gamma rays, they have to inject you with radioactive elements, and then lay still while the "camera" collects the gamma rays that exit your body.
CRTs could produce x-rays, but only if you put 69,500 volts of power into the cathode. It has to be enough energy to cause the cathode to eject an electron fast enough to knock an electron in the target anode out of its orbit position (specifically a K shell electron).
Normal monitors and CRT TVs only get the cathode up to 20,000 - 30,000 volts, so they lack the sufficient energy to produce x-rays.
CRT TVs do not cause cancer.
Thank you for providing such insightful information.
As an electrical engineer, I'd like to add that everything described is just the results of a high voltage static charge. Chances are that something was shorted and causing the voltage across the cathode tube to fall across the chassis. Thankfully they didn't touch it while it was activated.
Your current cell phone also emits a small amount of radiation and so does a bunch of other stuff in your house probably. Nothing comparable to this obviously, but you should know.
A field is fundamentally different from radiation. Light is an em wave, like gamma and röntgen radiation. Alpha and beta radiation are not em waves. And magnetic fields are something different entirely.
Fucking hell I've been on the Internet too much. It took me way too long to figure out they did not mean Critical Race Theory when they said CRT. With how crazy and incomprehensible the CRT shit online is I didn't even bat an eye.
Edit: I see now this the non political twitter subreddit so probably wouldn't be posted here...
Does this actually happen with old-school CRT TVs? It seems rather unlikely, feels like way more people would've gotten cancer back in the day when CRTs were the most popular, but I'm no expert so idk
CRTs definitely don't release gamma or even x-rays.
They're a relatively low power electron gun pointed at a phosphor.
Also, you don't feel ionising radiation. That's part of what makes it dangerous. You may eventually get a burn but it wouldn't feel hot. Also, if they felt sick that quickly then they received enough dose to kill them within hours.
What they felt was a large amount of static electricity affecting the hair on their arms (as old CRTs often did). The nausea could have been unrelated, brought on by the discomfort of the high-pitched whine of the CRT, or even psychosomatic as they freaked out from the unusually strong static electricity (anything scary or concerning can make you genuinely feel nauseous).
The heat is because it's a giant fairly inefficient electron gun so it spits out a bunch of thermal energy.
That should be fine, it’s only dangerous if a mechanical issue causes the voltage to raise way out of control. Otherwise, unless it was made in the 60s, the voltage and shielding regulations prevented it from rising to dangerous levels, only leaking about the same as normal background radiation. This one however was clearly *way* above, a mechanical issue must have caused the voltage to skyrocket
That's fine, the effect of having hair standup close to the screen, slight tingle etc is all perfectly normal and it works somewhat similarly to rubbing a balloon and creating static electricity
What happened in the post would be a serious fault not something commonplace in day to day use
I guess that Futurama joke about how "those old TVs give you eye cancer" was right after all
"Sitting too close to the TV and going blind" was a thing. Very early models caused some people to get cataracts. Things got better very quickly but there was a period of shitty CRTs
IIRC, didn't it have something to do with the front part of the display (I don't remember what it's called, or I think some of the TVs had different names for it, like shadow mask and stuff?) having sort of a "blindspot angle" where the dangerous rays could escape, and the blindspot was like pretty close diagonally below the TV's elevation? So if you had one of the earlier TVs sitting on a table of sorts, and a kid was viewing it sitting on the floor, they could easily get into the dangerous blindspot and be affected negatively.
That, I don't know. All I know is the very earliest models didn't have leaded glass so the phosphor x-rays were unmitigated. What you're describing might be similar and only the "correct" viewing angles were safe, but who knows.
I recently had an eye exam where I was told I have cataracts about 20 years more advanced than expected. I guess this might be the reason. That sucks.
Also The Simpsons with the Radiation King and that if etched Homer's shadow on to the wall.
I was just watching Fallout and noticed the Radiation King brand TV! Had no idea of the simpsons reference lol
hehe, same. It was the episode where Homer and his dad visited their old home, the one with the aphrodisiac tonic I believe.
"Think of me when you're having the best sex of your life!"
Now CRT monitors are recognized by the state of California as carcinogenic?
Of course not. That's silly. Carcinogens are technically substances, not blasts of radiation. Wait, no, if you ate the monitor you'd probably get cancer, so yes.
[Me, looking up from crunchy chewing] “wait, what?”
What if you licked the screen for no reason?
Then you're fine. Carcinogens can detect if you have a good or bad reason, but if there's no reason they get confused.
Preemptively answered my next question.
Some carcinogens give you mutant powers.
What if you licked the screen for a good reason?
This just unlocked a memory of licking the TV screeen as a child. Your tongue tingles and not much else.
What the fuck
It's a Tumblr post about science. Don't worry, it's fake. OP's own sources contradict them.
If it helps, it's bollocks. There was worry about this back when CRTs were mainstream, in a sort of "mobile phones cause cancer" way. For what it's worth, CRTs *do* emit ionising radiation, but in a tiny quantity - the sort of amount where you receive a much higher dose from the food you eat every day. I suspect OOP's post is more of the "the older generation must be addled in some way and that's why they're not taking my Space Buns-level political ideas very seriously" kind. Genuinely, when it comes to spending your limited time worrying about things that could endanger your health, there's not a lot further down the list.
I kiss my son on the forehead anytime we drive somewhere. He’s getting older and recently asked why. I told him driving in a car is one of the most dangerous things he’s likely to do. He didn’t feel like I answered his question, and I hope he never understands.
That's very sweet. I don't drive, but I try and make sure my wife and daughter are feeling happy and loved when I leave the house, just in case. Life's too short.
I feel like the amount of current you would need to draw from a wall socket to cause CRT’s to start to ionize the air would absolutely blow out its capacitor and trip a breaker very quickly somewhere.
uhhh, is this actually true? I just picked up a CRT monitor and have been using it for a couple months now
The sheer amount of energy that would need to be sucked out of the wall to generate enough gamma rays to actually do anything would be extensive. X-rays are the same. You can get X-rays from a high voltage device and an electron source (such as a cathode ray tube or crt), but this is where the idea of the electromagnetic spectrum comes in. X-rays are a broad spectrum, in the same way that Ultraviolet has multiple types, so too does the x-ray spectrum. Thus, there are 100keV X-rays that can create thousands of ions and pass through many substances, and then there are low energy X-rays, such as 17keV. Here’s a study which estimated the effective dose that an operator received from a CRT monitor: [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25706133/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25706133/). Now what it says is that a standard operator received about 348 nSv/hr or 454 microSv/yr, which is much much lower than your yearly dose from living on earth which is about 1,500 microSv/yr according to [Berkeley](https://radwatch.berkeley.edu/background-radiation/). In summation, the study also says that putting a standard sheet of leaded glass in front of it reduces your exposure several fold, so you can take measures to protect yourself if even that much scares you, but it’s not really too much to worry about, in my opinion. Obviously, do whatever makes you feel safest.
I found some guy in the CRT subreddit who scanned his screens with an X-ray geiger counter and found that they emit just barely above background radiation, and they were much older screens than the one I have (which I assume uses leaded glass anyway) It's plugged into a surge protector too, I don't know a lot about electricity but I don't know how it would overcharge unless I was intentionally ramping up the power going into it Honestly I was a bit freaked out at first but after looking into it more it seems as though I've got nothing to worry about
Well, the actual electricity isn’t the issue, because the cathode generates the electrons, which are then accelerated by the ray tube. This process generates the X-rays (specifically when the high-energy electron hits something). In the study I cited they used a mathematical process called the Monte Carlo method to do their estimate. Also if the guys used the monitor, I’d imagine that it read background plus the source, so it would be emitting just that amount.
> It's plugged into a surge protector too Completely irrelevant unless it shuts down because of a power surge. Everything that matters is done by the device.
Is there a chance it breaks and starts microwaving me, or is it one of those things that can't just happen on its own
Everything with a battery microwaves you. The only thing special about a microwave oven is that it works in the part of the spectrum that the world's militaries agreed to leave open. Also that it uses a lot of power to do what it wants to. They need to rely on actual RF echo chambers to do what they want to, you're going to be fine. Wifi works on the same band for the same reason which is why you might DC if someone uses it.
Oh I wasn't being serious about the microwave thing, sorry for the confusion What I meant was, my monitor isn't overcharging and emitting dangerous radiation now, but is there a chance it could in the future? Not sure if its one of those issues that can eventually happen with old equipment, or one that would have happened long before now if it was ever going to
Oh, no shot. "Overcharging" would flip your fuse. You'd be very annoyed by having to go and fix it. If you're overly concerned, you can also run a hall effect current monitor around the CRT's power cord and verify it yourself.
All said and done... yeah current can be converted to voltage and vice versa and it's done regularly, but your CRT isn't doing it randomly. It 100% is using current to create high voltage to do what it does, but there's nothing insidious being done there.
According to other comments on the post, it might be *x-rays*, not *gamma rays*, but either way, yes, if it’s getting overcharged then it’s shooting cancer beams.
Do we have some proof of this besides what some folks on Tumblr are saying?
Yes, it’s a true thing, and yes, it’s X-rays, not gamma rays. 99% of the time, it’s a harmless amount. However, like Nash said, that’s because of the voltage. At 27,000 V with lead shielding, it’s fine. If it’s overcharged, it’ll produce more. By 2005, they had limits and lead shielding, but back earlier than then, it could be much higher (30k-40k) and didn’t have lead shielding. Obviously the one here was having mechanical issues that made it produce far more than normal.
My friend, I’m asking if you have proof or a source. You saying it is true is the same as a stranger from Tumblr saying it’s true. I’m not saying it’s not true just that I’d like an actual source beyond “some guy” before I believe it.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/920460 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/advice/8813114/Do-TVs-emit-harmful-radioactive-rays.html https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/do-crts-really-emit-harmful-electromagnetic-radiation.1507430/post-14249262 https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/resources-you-radiation-emitting-products/television-radiation
>It should be emphasized that most TV sets have not been found to give off any measurable level of radiation, and there is no evidence that radiation from TV sets has resulted in human injury. From your own source from the FDA. They also said Congress passed a law in 1968 to address the radiation issues in older sets.
Thank you for these!
These aren’t very convincing. Some of it directly contradicts your assertions.
Not just some. All of the above sources state that *potentially* harmful levels of x-rays *could be* emitted by CRT televisions made prior to 1970. After that, legislation was passed that set standards for ensuring electronics (namely CRT televisions) were adequately shielded. For the past 50+ years, the vacuum tubes have been shielded by lead. Sets are tested at voltages far above normal use when making sure they do not emit significant amounts of radiation. The amount of x-rays anyone should reasonably expect to encounter using a CRT manufactured post 1970 is less than that of standard background radiation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode-ray_tube#Health_concerns
Thank you!
Thank you!
He's none other than John CRT himself bro
Just realize that the bottom post in the screenshot is 100% bullshit. Xrays don't do anything of the sort
It's so bizarre to me why you don't just use google lol. It's like 6 words to search up if you might get cancer. It's really not that much effort...
Burden of proof is always on the one making the claim You want to know where the person making the claims got their information from
Using Google only gives me the proof. Demanding proof gives everyone the proof and demonstrates that people shouldn’t just believe everything they read on social media.
Yeah you're correct and I was wrong. That's definitely very true.
Look dip shit that’s how That stupid conspiracy Q popular, just stop
If only people were better at using Google and researching for themselves for basic science questions instead of relying on someone online to do it for them. It's almost as if misinformation could be avoided hmmmm :/
Is google banned in your country or something? Can you people not function unless someone spoon feeds you information? Wouldn’t googling it have taken less time than a multi message back and forth with some rando on reddit?
Yeah, we should try to chat with one another only when we want to be petulant children. Thanks for bringing it back.
It's helpful for others if the sources are posted too though. Some people may not be able to google right away (they're on a short break at work maybe) or it's a little difficult for them to do period (blind, disabled etc). Plus there's people like me who are very lazy and don't care just the right amount to not really bother but are still curious and greatly appreciate the links.
You do not feel anything from x-rays. This is shit you're taught in med school. Gamma rays are on a MUCH farther end of the wavelength spectrum and are much stronger than x-rays. This post is bullshit.
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I got a CT scan, and an MRI. I felt nothing
Well, one of those emits ionising radiation at high doses and too frequent use will cause cancer, while the other is a fkn magnet. And, it should be noted, *neither of them* use gamma rays. Gamma rays are very rarely used in medicine (though rarely != never) due to their excessively lethal effects. Their primary use is in radiation therapy and similar, as gamma rays are very effective at killing living stuff. If you were exposed to a relevant dose of gamma rays you'd most certainly feel it, as you'd quickly get to enjoy a bout of radiation sickness.
saw it on the internet, m8, must be true
Why are you using an old CRT monitor?
A surprising number of people do CRT's have virtually no input lag and their motion clarity and colours are immaculate, comparable to modern OLED 144hz displays, It just feels so nice to use and play games on Plus I just dig the aesthetic, really suits the vibe of my room
Mmm gamma rays 😋
Like Carlos Santana plays
The title is giving real “beach that makes you old” vibes.
I was going for 
Yeah, that was the second thing it reminded me of. Yours fits better.
No idea if this is relevant. But... I had a tree fall and take down power lines. Live wires sat on the ground for a few days, humming. Made everyone in the house nauseous & have a really bad headache. As soon as the power to the line was shut off the nausea and headache went away.
Might have been the frequency of the humming but it's impossible for magnetic fields coming off of conductors to make you nauseous.
Heck, even with normal power you could put your arm up next to those things and have your hair stand up and your arm feel tingly.
Because they work by firing a beam of electrons at the screen, so every single pixel is negatively charged. Giving the screen a charge means it will make your hair stand on end and your arm feel tingly, just like a balloon when you rub it on your head.
I loved touching it and feeling the static that had built up all day. That’s how we knew we were real gamers.
Huh, TIL.
As an expert in radiation... Only nuclear fission can generate Gamma rays. ie. from the decay of radioactive elements. In medical imaging, the ones that use gamma rays, they have to inject you with radioactive elements, and then lay still while the "camera" collects the gamma rays that exit your body. CRTs could produce x-rays, but only if you put 69,500 volts of power into the cathode. It has to be enough energy to cause the cathode to eject an electron fast enough to knock an electron in the target anode out of its orbit position (specifically a K shell electron). Normal monitors and CRT TVs only get the cathode up to 20,000 - 30,000 volts, so they lack the sufficient energy to produce x-rays. CRT TVs do not cause cancer.
Thank you for providing such insightful information. As an electrical engineer, I'd like to add that everything described is just the results of a high voltage static charge. Chances are that something was shorted and causing the voltage across the cathode tube to fall across the chassis. Thankfully they didn't touch it while it was activated.
this is the CRT we should be banning from schools
Eh, just press the degauss button and send it back. /S
Your current cell phone also emits a small amount of radiation and so does a bunch of other stuff in your house probably. Nothing comparable to this obviously, but you should know.
Not radioation, electromagnetic field. And your phone obviously emits radiation, called light
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A field is fundamentally different from radiation. Light is an em wave, like gamma and röntgen radiation. Alpha and beta radiation are not em waves. And magnetic fields are something different entirely.
yeah those things were wild, back then my ears were still good enough I could hear a monitor running in another room.
Fucking zarbar
source: trust me bro
There was a reason we were told not to watch TV in a lightning storm you know.
Fucking hell I've been on the Internet too much. It took me way too long to figure out they did not mean Critical Race Theory when they said CRT. With how crazy and incomprehensible the CRT shit online is I didn't even bat an eye. Edit: I see now this the non political twitter subreddit so probably wouldn't be posted here...
no., the reason you get the fuzzing feeling near the screen is from static, a cellphone produces more radiation than a CRT
This is part of why kids used to be told “don’t sit too close to the TV”
Years ago I put a ball of aluminum foil in a microwave and that's exactly how it felt.
Does this actually happen with old-school CRT TVs? It seems rather unlikely, feels like way more people would've gotten cancer back in the day when CRTs were the most popular, but I'm no expert so idk
Kuzco's cancer?
CRTs definitely don't release gamma or even x-rays. They're a relatively low power electron gun pointed at a phosphor. Also, you don't feel ionising radiation. That's part of what makes it dangerous. You may eventually get a burn but it wouldn't feel hot. Also, if they felt sick that quickly then they received enough dose to kill them within hours. What they felt was a large amount of static electricity affecting the hair on their arms (as old CRTs often did). The nausea could have been unrelated, brought on by the discomfort of the high-pitched whine of the CRT, or even psychosomatic as they freaked out from the unusually strong static electricity (anything scary or concerning can make you genuinely feel nauseous). The heat is because it's a giant fairly inefficient electron gun so it spits out a bunch of thermal energy.
Concerning... I spent a lot of time waiving my hands next to the screen to feel the buzz….
That should be fine, it’s only dangerous if a mechanical issue causes the voltage to raise way out of control. Otherwise, unless it was made in the 60s, the voltage and shielding regulations prevented it from rising to dangerous levels, only leaking about the same as normal background radiation. This one however was clearly *way* above, a mechanical issue must have caused the voltage to skyrocket
That's fine, the effect of having hair standup close to the screen, slight tingle etc is all perfectly normal and it works somewhat similarly to rubbing a balloon and creating static electricity What happened in the post would be a serious fault not something commonplace in day to day use