Have you ever noticed that at the end of the a$$emblies, you always seem to have a headache? And this is above and beyond the one that you might get during a stressful day at work. People seem to get them during the assemblies. I used to get them: I could count on having one after the program, especially after the first day.
Why might this be? For one thing, the programs are boring and stupid as s***. They are sleep-inducing, and yet you are supposed to stay awake during the whole thing (if I sleep through the afternoon session, it seems to reduce the headache somewhat). That "music" is enough to induce a nasty headache as well. No, aspirin does nothing for a headache, especially when you could avoid it in the first place by not going.
But the program is only part of the problem. You see, those buildings are heated and cooled with forced air through metal ductworks, and there is never any water falling through the air. The air going through the ductworks strips it of electrons, positively charging it. And this positively charged air acts as a Lewis acid (for those who flunked chemistry, a Lewis acid is a substance that donates protons, which are hydrogen ions that make something acidic). And this makes the body react by getting grouchy. You might have noticed that children are affected in that it makes sitting still more difficult (and this in turn leads to unnecessary spankings and beatings). Adults react by getting that headache. Notice that positive ions are generated by forced heated or cooled air passing through metal ductworks, while negative ions are produced when drops of water fall through the air or when live plants are growing. I have yet to see enough live plants to have this effect.
Besides the electrical charge, there is the pollution. These a$$embly hells are never ventilated. The carpet creates gases (have you noticed that new-carpet smell?). If these gases are trapped for substantial amounts of time and you are breathing them in all day, you can get a headache. Added to this is the formaldehyde outgassing from particle board and plywood. Any paint, varnish, cleaning solvents, glue fumes, and carpet fumes tend to accumulate. A large stadium has these problems to a lesser extent since they are usually better ventilated and frequently used for worldly events.
Lighting is usually ample, though at large auditoriums the upper tiers are marginal. Open stadiums have good lighting, but it can get very hot in summer and the sun is strongest. (In fact, there can be too much light for comfort when reading the Bible in bright sunlight all day. Fluorescent lighting tends to flicker at 60 Hz (notice that a typical CRT computer screen also emits the same UV light and flicker). At work, this is not usually enough to induce a headache unless you are under the glare of such a light all day. However, reading the Bible and Craptower publications all day in this light can help a headache that is already developing.
The best way to prevent this kind of headache: Don't go. If you must go, it pays to sleep through the afternoon session (it helps to be in a ways and toward the rear of the building; the policemenattendants tend to focus on the aisles and the middle and lower tiers. And they have to worry about safety: If they look at someone nearer the top, they are more likely to trip and fall down the stairs than if they are looking down from the top. Plus, they are usually lazy and not as likely to spend time in the upper rows. Bonus: Usually, you are closer to the air conditioning if you sit as high up as possible.