Why you shouldn't go cheap on phone accessories

Construction on the Lick Run Greenway has been going on for eight months.  Engineers said the project is on track, but it's far from done. In the meantime, traffic remains a challenge. "We have about another 10 months, 11 months to get all of the hard features in," Pat Arnette, the deputy director of engineering for Metropolitan Sewer District Deputy Director. They're building a 1.5-mile-long stormwater tunnel. Above it, a natural stream lined with trees and greenery will flow. The $90 million project will redirect water to Mill Creek during storms, helping prevent raw sewage and stormwater pouring through local combined sewer overflows.  The project has caused major traffic disruptions with roads closed for weeks or months.  "Right now, the traffic is a challenge," Arnette said. "We're replacing five bridges with this project." Buying on-brand accessories for one's smartphone can be frustratingly expensive -- Apple USB cables alone, which are essential for charging, run from $19 to $39 on the company's official site. However, these purchases might be a case of getting what one pays for. Not only can third-party accessories fail to interact properly with device-specific software such as iTunes, international reports indicate some can even pose a safety risk. Ma Ailun, a Chinese flight attendant, was reportedly shocked to death in 2013 when she attempted to make a call on her iPhone 5 while it charged. Brazilian news outlet Globo also reported the death of a 17-year-old girl who had been listening to music on her phone while it charged. These cases are extremely rare, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, because most USB cords carry about five volts -- not enough to severely harm a human being. "Most of our attention has (instead) been on overheating, smoke or fire," Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the commission, said. However, University of Cincinnati professor Jeff Blevins said it's a good idea to protect oneself by buying accessories produced or endorsed by the phone's manufacturer.