If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last year, it’s that some phones can bend if put under enough pressure. But in addition to possibly putting an unwanted curve or crack in that expensive telecommunications device, stashing a phone in your back pocket may result in a literal pain in the butt. [More]
pain
Home Remedies To Zap Headaches Away
By 11.15.11
Doctors say headaches are a sign of deeper problems. And as Arnold assures you in Kindergarten Cop, it’s (most likely) not a toomah. Stress, poor nutrition, lack of rest and anxiety can all trigger headaches. And while it’s not easy to eliminate the causes instantly, there are simple things you can do to make the pain go away that don’t involve medication. [More]
The Touch Of Money Takes Pain Away?
By 4.13.10
A University of Minnesota professor is arguing that the touch and thought of cash helps solve your woes. Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it helps take the pain away, he says he’s found. [More]
FDA: Hey America, Stop Overdosing On Painkillers!
By 6.30.09
Look, we know this recession is tough and all, but you’ve gotta lay off the NyQuil and Theraflu or the FDA will stuff them behind a counter, ok? Seriously, an advisory panel is meeting today, and already voted to reduce the maximum daily dose of Tylenol and other painkillers. They might even slap scary “black box” warnings on all over-the-counter painkillers to dissuade you acetaminophen addicts from overdosing.
FAFSA To Get Dramatically Shorter, Less Painful
By 6.24.09
The Department of Education has announced that the FAFSA, considered (by me) to suck worse than any form ever, is getting shorter and less painful. Most importantly for those of you who have procrastination-prone parents that just don’t enjoy filling out forms (me, again), the FAFSA will allow students applying for financial aid in the spring semester of 2010 to “seamlessly retrieve their relevant tax information from the IRS for easy completion.”
Are Walmart's New Shopping Carts Shocking Customers?
By 5.25.09
We received a strange tip from Steve, who says the new shopping carts in his local Walmart shock him every time he touches them. He says he saw another shopper get shocked as well, and that a cashier confirmed it. Has anyone else experienced this?
Treat Back Pain By Poking Patients With Toothpicks
By 5.14.09
The Consumer Reports Health blog brought this to our attention. A study in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the effectiveness of acupuncture for lower back pain patients.
Video: Shuffle Fun Shuffle Shuffle Fun Shuffle Fun Fun Shuffle Fun Fun Shuffle Just Plane Fun!
By 1.13.09
Here’s an internal pep video for Southwest Airlines from the 80’s. It’s got representatives from each part of the company rapping about their roles (do this do that we never get hairy we do it for you because we’re your secretary), with an interstitial chorus singing “Shuffle fun shuffle shuffle fun shuffle fun fun shuffle fun fun shuffle just plane fun” on my elementary schools’ auditorium stage while employees run around in plush airplane costumes. After about 9 minutes of that, it finally culminates in some sort of motivational orgy with singing and jiving and the CEO strutting around and the strobe lights flash and quick edits and a cascade of balloons drops from the ceilings and I can’t take it anymore. I think if I step on a Southwest Airlines plane again I’ll fall to the floor in like a PTSD-induced epileptic seizure… of excellent customer service! Video, inside, if you dare…
Delta Announces Massive Fee Increases For Unaccompanied Minors, Pets
By 4.3.08
Reader M has forwarded us a memo from Delta detailing massive fee increases for unaccompanied minors, pets, gate checked strollers, “administrative service charges,” curb-side check in and more.
United Airlines: Sorry, Your 200,000 Frequent Flier Miles Have Expired
By 1.18.08
Ouch this one really hurts.
FDA Issues New Warnings Over Misuse Of Duragesic Patch
By 12.21.07
The FDA said today that a small number of preventable cases of accidental death have occurred since their first Duragesic warning in 2005, prompting them to ask Johnson & Johnson and the makers of a generic version to add new warnings. “Despite a July 2005 warning, the Food and Drug Administration ‘has continued to receive reports of deaths and life-threatening side effects after doctors have inappropriately prescribed the patch or patients have incorrectly used it,’ the agency said.”
FDA Issues Public Health Warning About Cancer Pain Drug Fentora
By 9.27.07
The FDA would like to let you know that a medicine meant to be used to control pain in patients who have become tolerant to morphine and other similar drugs is being used incorrectly and some patients have died as a result.
Grab Your Sewing Kit: Fake Acupuncture Works!
By 9.26.07
Score another round—sort of—for alternative medicine. In what may be the funniest medical study fake-out so far, German scientists report that patients who received fake acupuncture in their lower back reported relief at almost-but-not-quite the same rate as those who received legit acupuncture: 44% of patients improved, versus 47% of those who received real acupuncture and 25% of those who received conventional treatment reported improvements.
CompUSA PS3 Bundle Turns Out to Be A Scam
By 11.21.06
Did Mary get her TV or her PS3? Nope. The staff told her there was a priority list for the PS3, but couldn’t tell her if she was on it. Then, after Mary left the store TV-less and PS3-less she got a telephone call from the store manager, who informed her:
