"Stayin' Alive" was meant to be about, um, staying alive at the disco? Avoiding crashing disco balls? I'm actually not sure what it meant. But what experts are sure of is that it can help people to perform CPR properly and actually help people to stay alive.

The song has 103 beats per minute. One hundred chest compressions are recommended each minute of CPR. That means that Stayin' Alive has just the right rhythm for performing the chest compressions during CPR.

Doctors and students at the University of Illinois found that if they listened to the 1977 song, they performed the chest compressions close to the 100 times a minute recommended by the American Heart Association.

If you're learning CPR, try listening to the song to help you to get into the proper rhythm. And if you're going to do anything dangerous, make sure you have a Bee Gees CD with you, just in case.

Play it loud...


The song is available on MP3. Think of your safety!

Here's a 2-Disc Bee Gees extravaganza containing the song and plenty of other disco greats.

And if you have more time on your hands, see one of the best parodies of the Gibbs here: