Products You Shouldnt Buy

[In My Memory]

Dammit' date=' I still need to market my new diet pill. Only mine really does work, and any scientist will agree that, yes, it will make you lose weight.

 

On a completely random aside, does anyone know where I can get a supply of tapeworm eggs and some empty medicine capsules? No connection at all....

 

::whistles innocently::

 

I mean, they do *work*, right? So why would anyone complain?

 

Mokele[/quote']

The forces that be compell me to post a link to Snopes.com - Ingesting tape worms for weight loss.

 

 

On a personal note, I have a friend who lives in New Mexico who tossed around the idea of drinking dirty water to contract Giardiasis - apparently she believed the parasite could allow her to drop lots of water weight, and believed the intestinal cramps would curb her diet.

 

On the one hand, I think to myself "this could be really interesting - I wonder if she would seriously do something like that - is she being serious". Then I consider "yeah, she is", so I shout at her until she drops the idea.

 

Nothing makes your day like being a voice of reason

[Aardvark]

On a personal note' date=' I have a friend who lives in New Mexico who tossed around the idea of drinking dirty water to contract Giardiasis - apparently she believed the parasite could allow her to drop lots of water weight, and believed the intestinal cramps would curb her diet.

 

On the one hand, I think to myself "this could be really interesting - I wonder if she would seriously do something like that - is she being serious". Then I consider "yeah, she is", so I shout at her until she drops the idea.

 

Nothing makes your day like being a voice of reason

 

You didn't feel just the tiniest bit of temptation to be the voice of howling insanity?

 

It would have been interesting

[In My Memory]

You didn't feel just the tiniest bit of temptation to be the voice of howling insanity?

 

It would have been interesting

If for a few minutes I played along and egged her on, does that make a bad person?

 

(Recently, I learned the backstory behind the stange idea: inspired by Discovery Health channel's stories of maggots cleaning wounds and leeches draining swollen limbs, a groan woman feels enchanted to try her own home remedies - that would make for a fun call to the hospital. )

[Aardvark]

If for a few minutes I played along and egged her on, does that make a bad person?

 

Don't worry, i'd forgive you.

 

(Recently, I learned the backstory behind the stange idea: inspired by Discovery Health channel's stories of maggots cleaning wounds and leeches draining swollen limbs, a groan woman feels enchanted to try her own home remedies - that would make for a fun call to the hospital. )

 

DIY healthcare, economical and population reducing.

[Mokele]

The forces that be compell me to post a link to Snopes.com - Ingesting tape worms for weight loss.

 

Oh, I've heard the legends too. And if I was less worried about the legal ramifications, I'd try to make them a reality. I mean, in my book, tapeworms are *way* less creepy than using a neurotoxin to cure wrinkles, and that got FDA approved.

 

Mokele

[Dak]

tapeworms may actually help to rebalance the digestive system. the theory is that we evolved to tolerate enteric parasites, and only resently have we bin able to live without them, therefore all of our evolved techniques for counteracting them could, in their abscense, cause an 'unbalansing' of the gut, explaining the high frequensy of bowel disorders (IBS, colonic sistitus, sistic colitus (theyre different apparently), chrohn etc) in developed contries compared to less developed contries where enteric parasites are still common.

 

clinical studies are being carried out in germany to investigat the potential of pigflukes (i think) in curing human IBS.

[In My Memory]

I originally intended this thread to feature of a few popular commercial products, but I just couldnt resist posting this program that I discovered in one of the Google ads that appears the top of this site! This is perhaps the strangest product I've found yet:

 

Mental Pilates:

 

When I was searching through the Mental Pilates site, I could not find any pictures of the product. I assume the product is a series of exercise tapes to teach users various methods of how to meditate.

 

Here are some of the claims of the product:

Pilates Focuses On Your Core Muscles

The physical exercises designed by Joseph Pilates emphasize concentrating on your body’s “core” or “powerhouse”; being your girdle of strength. The powerhouse looks like thick rubber bands or a corset that wraps around the middle part of your body; it expands from the bottom part of your rib cage to the line across your hips and wraps around to your back. It is this part of the body that serves as the foundation of the Pilates program and from there; the routines extend outward towards strengthening and stretching the exterior limbs.

 

Mental Pilates Focuses On Your

Core Thoughts ... Your Own Self Image

Similarly, Mental Pilates emphasizes focusing on your spirit’s “core”, being your own self image. The foundation of the Mental Pilates program is focused upon directing your mind's attention towards identifying and developing a strong and inspiring view of one’s self. Then, working outward from the core, Mental Pilates looks towards your relationships with others as opportunities for further strengthening and affirming your developing identity.

Essentially, the program aims to help you become more emotionally stable, develop your innermost personal convictions, and achieve mental vitality.

 

I think all it takes to discredit this product is to post what the author believes is scientific evidence:

Quantum Physics - the Science of Possibilities

 

Quantum mechanics is the physics of very, very small entities like molecules, atoms, and elementary particles, as well as neurotransmitters and receptors in the brain. Quantum mechanics holds that such tiny particles possess both the properties of waves and the properties of particles. Simply stated, these tiny particles are in a wave of infinite possible positions until they are measured and/or observed, at which point they become a single particle. The act of measuring and/or observing the particles influences that which is being measured or observed. “When you ain’t lookin’, it’s like a wave. When you are lookin’, it’s like a particle,” to quote Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D from the fascinating documentary/drama What the Bleep Do You Know.

 

While the science of quantum mechanics (also referred to as quantum theory) may intimidate the majority of the population, it is a very real and important discipline. Quantum theory has stood the test of time and has been independently verified by thousands of experiments over the past 75 years. It is the basis for many of our modern technologies including computers, cell phones and CD/DVD players.

 

The importance of quantum theory in our daily lives cannot be overstated. We can think of it as the science behind the long known concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Be careful of what you focus your mind’s attention on, because you are inviting the subject of that focus into your life. Johnjoe McFadden, author of Quantum Evolution, How Physics’ Wierdest Theory Explains Life’s Biggest Mystery writes: “I believe it (quantum mechanics) also lies at the heart of that most extraordinary of human abilities; creative thinking. Great ideas are not pulled out of the air; but out of the quantum multiverse.”

I was disappointed, the authors didnt use the word "vibrations" not one time.

 

Oh well

[paleolithic]

Sorry for posting on such an old thread but....

 

http://www.magicaltransformations.com/quantumphysics.htm

[padren]

This is a great thread

 

I am just a bit confused...why haven't there been any posts angrily defending any of this stuff in ALL CAPS yet?

[insane_alien]

not enough time for them to shift through boxes of magnetic bracelets and weight loss pills.

[The Peon]

Product: Stupid shock muscle builders.

 

Sad part: I have heard people say these things work... yea, thats why all the professional bodybuilders and even the amatuer competiters use them right? Not. I used to be in the amatuer circuit and everyone knows these are bogus. What a sham.

 

Here is an example of this garbage: http://www.buyamag.com/ems_tens_stimulation.htm

[JesuBungle]

Product: Stupid shock muscle builders.

 

I put some of those on my head once...not a good idea:-(

 

But yeah, I really have a thing against that alternative medicine crap. I think doctors that try and push that stuff should be thrown in jail, especially when they try to say: "Take these pills instead of going through chemotherapy."

[mooeypoo]

How 'bout all those pills claiming to prevent flu in the summer?

 

Those, actually, I concider quite DANGEROUS, in fact. If you start on pills that change your immune system (for instance, claim to 'elevate' it and prevent deseases) your body gets used to it, and when you stop taking them, your immune system drops, and you get (ironically enough) the flu

 

http://immunesystemboost.ca/ <-- this is one of the examples.. there are lots more.

 

Most of those products claim to contain vitamins, while they don't.

Much safer to eat fruit and drink Orange Juice..

 

~moo

[the tree]

about the ionic breeze, in the houses i've been in that owned it, the house smelled better. This is because people who clean they're house excessively would be likely to buy another product in the field, correct?

Well ozone smells absolutely lovely, however lethal it might be, so that may well be another factor.

[j_p]

Product: Stupid shock muscle builders.

 

Sad part: I have heard people say these things work... yea' date=' thats why all the professional bodybuilders and even the amatuer competiters use them right? Not. I used to be in the amatuer circuit and everyone knows these are bogus. What a sham.

 

Here is an example of this garbage: http://www.buyamag.com/ems_tens_stimulation.htm

 

Wait a minute; I thought this technology could be used to keep the muscles in a paralyzed limp from atrophizing?

 

[bTW, I am not defending the sale of them as fittness aids, but I actually owned a home-use version once, and it was a lot of fun to watch the muscles jump. I wonder if I still have it?]

[Steph]

Man... I forgot the name of the product, but it was a patch that was basically "guaranteed to make you loose weight if used in conjunction with a good diet and exercise". Well, at least it was true.

[ecoli]

Man... I forgot the name of the product, but it was a patch that was basically "guaranteed to make you loose weight if used in conjunction with a good diet and exercise[/i']". Well, at least it was true.

 

perhaps they are re-packed band-aids.

[SmallIsPower]

Since there are no molecules of the original chemical present in the diluted solution, there is no scientifically accepted mechanism. The homeopathic explanation seems to be that water has memory, but then just about everything has been dissolved in the ocean at some point, so it would seem that water has a selective memory, at best.

Maybe water has a memory....

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3817

Yet a paper is about to be published in the reputable journal Physica A claiming to show that even though they should be identical, the structure of hydrogen bonds in pure water is very different from that in homeopathic dilutions of salt solutions. Could it be time to take the "memory" of water seriously?

[silkworm]

I never saw this thread.

 

Just buy some friggin house plants. Preferebly philodendrens.

[SmallIsPower]

More on water memory:

 

This guy's got an mit email address and claims to be a prof:

http://www.watercluster.com

 

He claims that water molecules form different polihedra with pentagonal and hexagonal clusters.

Polyhedral water clusters, especially concatenated pentagonal clusters, have been experimentally identified as being key to the hydration of biomolecules. It has even been suggested that water clusters may play a fundamental role in biological cell architecture. In such scenarios, the cluster surface-oxygen- based molecular orbitals and JT-induced low-frequency vibronic modes described above most likely underlie the active roles of water in biology.

[scicop]

Here's one to add to the list: Antibodies from the Santa Cruz company.

 

You'd get better results by spitting on your sample.

[swansont]

More on water memory:

 

This guy's got an mit email address and claims to be a prof:

http://www.watercluster.com

 

He claims that water molecules form different polihedra with pentagonal and hexagonal clusters.

 

A search of the MIT site shows that name and email address as an affiliate. This page implies that an affiliate is the spouse/partner of an MIT student or employee.

[J.C.MacSwell]

If for a few minutes I played along and egged her on' date=' does that make a bad person?

 

(Recently, I learned the backstory behind the stange idea: inspired by Discovery Health channel's stories of maggots cleaning wounds and leeches draining swollen limbs, [b']a groan woman[/b] feels enchanted to try her own home remedies - that would make for a fun call to the hospital. )

 

Lol, very good!

[Drug addict]

Homeopathy can be dangerous when people use it to the exclusion of conventional medical treatment and when you have homeopaths doing realy crazy things like recommending homeopathic prepartions for malaria prophylaxis:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5178488.stm

[CurvKyle]

How about HeadOn?

 

 

Looks like snake oil to me.