When you’re a kid at Halloween it’s like, “Calories? What’s a calorie? Sounds boring. I’m going to put more Reese’s in my mouth now.” Even if kids aren’t aware of what they’re ingesting, the reality is there’s a lot going into their young systems: The average child will eat 3,500 to 7,000 calories worth of treats on Halloween night. That explains the sugar-fueled laps I used to run around our house after trick-or-treating. [More]
health
Your Warm Little Smartphone Makes A Perfectly Cozy Incubator For Bacteria
By 10.23.12
Ladies and germs, you can wash your hands and refuse to touch the bathroom handle at work without a paper towel as often as you want, but you might be cradling a veritable incubator of bacteria right up to your face all day long anyway. Those warm little constant companions of ours, smartphones, could be spreading bugs nobody wants. [More]
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos’ Red Dye Sending Parents Rushing Needlessly To ER With Snack-Happy Kids
By 10.19.12
“Honey, could you come to the bathroom for a minute and look at what Bobby’s done?” “Oh my, that is quite a vibrant shade of red, let’s panic and take him to the emergency room.” I don’t have kids but I imagine that’s how the conversation would go if your child’s bathroom output was an unnatural color, but it turns out it’d be an unnecessary visit. In fact, doctors are peeved at Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for sending parents needlessly rushing with their kids to the emergency room, all because of that pesky red food dye that’s used to show just how flaming hot those Cheetos really are. [More]
Science Totally Ruins Things For Everyone By Saying The 5-Second Rule Isn’t Really True
By 10.18.12
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped food — on the floor at home mostly, maybe sometimes in the street — and depending on what kind of substance it was, shrugged, cited the “five-second rule” and picked it back up. I’ve never gotten sick from doing so, but now science has cracked that whole way of life wide open and said that actually, germs can totally stick to food within five seconds. Nooo! [More]
San Francisco Suburb Bans Smoking In All Multi-Family Homes, Whether Rented Or Owned
By 10.16.12
In a move lauded by anti-smoking activists and destined to be fumed about by those who see it as an invasion of privacy, the San Francisco suburb of San Rafael has voted to ban smoking in any multi-family home. Doesn’t matter if you’re renting it or own it outright — the City Council voted unanimously to join nine other California municipalities who have outlawed smoking in such buildings. [More]
American Airlines Flight Grounded Because Typhoid Fever Apparently Still A Thing To Worry About
By 10.16.12
Add this odd incident to the litany of problems plaguing American Airlines lately: A plane coming in from Miami was held for two hours on the ground at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport last night after a passenger piped up to say she maybe kinda could be at risk for having typhoid fever. [More]
If Going Without Your Phone Makes You Want To Flip Out, You Might Be Nomophobic
By 10.12.12
Where is your cell phone right now? Is it right next to you? On the desk? In the other room? Where is it?!?!? If you find yourself mildly freaking out when you’re not near your phone, you might have nomophobia, otherwise known as the fear of losing or being unable to use a cellphone. Just another condition they didn’t have to deal with way back in yore. [More]
Florida Governor Inadvertently Gives Out Sex Line Number Instead Of Meningitis Hotline
By 10.10.12
Teaching all public figures an important lesson in triple-checking any phone numbers given out during press-attended events (as well as a reminder of the importance of fact-checking for news agencies), Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott inadvertently directed callers worried about the fungal meningitis outbreak to a sex phone line instead of the toll-free health hotline. [More]
Study Says All Your Snuffling & Sneezing Could Give Mr. Whiskers McKittyton The Flu
By 10.10.12
You might want to think twice the next time you sneeze in the general direction of your beloved pet* — according to researchers, people underestimate their ability to pass on illnesses like seasonal flu to their furry friends. Instead of blithely breathing into Rover or Fluffy’s face, researchers say you should be as mindful of passing on bugs to your pets as you are with your friends, family and co-workers. [More]
Feds Ask Appeals Court To Reconsider Requiring Graphic Warnings On Cigarette Packaging
By 10.9.12
Big Tobacco came away with a win in August when a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that cigarette packaging shouldn’t be required to feature graphic health warnings about the dangers of smoking. But the Food and Drug Administration seems to be on a team with the Justice Department, as the latter agency is asking for a full appeals court to reconsider that idea. [More]
Healthy Shmealthy: Business Is Hopping At Taco Bell Located Inside Brooklyn Hospital
By 10.8.12
Hospitals always bring to mind bastions of health, where the unwell go to get well and we’re sure everyone is getting the appropriate amount of calories in their cups of Jell-O. And then there’s the hospital in Brooklyn — right smack in the middle of health advocate Mayor Bloomberg’s territory — that dashes that image right to pieces with the existence of a Taco Bell located in the building. [More]
Feds: 20% Of Weight Loss, Immune System Supplements Making False Claims
By 10.3.12
It’s not just that the federal government doesn’t want the marketers of dietary supplements to just make up what their products can do for consumers, according to a new study on the prevalence of weight loss and immune system supplement, the Department of Health and Human Services warns that it could actually be harmful to our health to buy in to the hype. The agency just released a new report saying that around 20% of 127 different supplements it investigated made false and illegal claims to cure or treat diseases. [More]
Nobody Wants To Get Sick But Plenty Of People Are Still Avoiding Flu Shots
By 9.27.12
Who wants the flu this year? No one? That’s what we thought. So how come lots of people — especially those most at risk for getting sick — aren’t going in for flu shots? Health experts aren’t sure, they just know that flu shots are somewhat of a hard sell lately. And those who most need one, pregnant women and health care workers, aren’t showing up to get vaccinated as much as they should. [More]
McDonald's Menu Boards To Reveal How Many Calories Are Going Along For The Ride With That Big Mac
By 9.12.12
You’re going to have a lot harder time avoiding the plain truth of how many calories you’re ingesting along with that Big Mac and fries at a McDonald’s near you soon. The company announced that it will now be posting the caloric content of all its items on menu boards and drive-thru menus across the U.S. It’s a big move for the fast food industry, one that other chains could feel compelled to follow its lead. [More]
Hantavirus Case Linked To Home Cleaned Out On TLC's 'Hoarders' TV Show
By 9.10.12
First of all, whoever is volunteering to help clean out homes on TLC’s Hoarders: Buried Alive, you are a better person than most of us, because sorting through piles of stuff/garbage/cats/whathaveyou can’t always be a fun time. Especially for at least one person who has reportedly contracted hantavirus — the same disease that has killed three people who visited Yosemite National Park — after filming a recent episode of the reality TV show in Texas. [More]
Does It Matter If Organic Food Isn't Actually More Nutritious Than Conventional Products?
By 9.4.12
Clutch your kale close, organic food lovers — a new study says organic products aren’t any better for you nutrition-wise than conventional foods. The four-year project looked at 240 other studies covering nutrients in foods as well as potential contaminants like pesticides and found that even though we might pay more for our organic veggies, fruits and meat, they’re no better for us than regular food. [More]
Yosemite National Park Warns 1,700 Visitors They Might Have Gotten A Rodent-Borne Disease
By 8.29.12
Any of the 1,700 people who visited Yosemite National Park and stayed in some of its quaintest rustic tent cabins in June, July or August should take note — park officials are warning visitors from this summer that they maybe could’ve caught a rare rodent-borne disease called hantavirus. So far two visitors have died from the disease and two others have fallen ill. [More]
Playing Doctor: Consumerist Readers Explain How To Cure Anything With Just About Everything
By 8.17.12
Earlier this week we turned to you, our wise and experienced Consumerist readers, to tell us which home remedies you’ve had success with in treating various bodily ailments. Or maybe the treatment wasn’t so successful but you learned an important life lesson on the process. We’ve combed through your highly entertaining and definitely useful comments and have compiled a few of the most common and well, interesting ones here (ahem, earwax?). [More]
