The Sense Of Science

Take er' easy big fella, take er' easy.

Wow, I'am really avoiding my next installment of (say it in an all knowing, deep and mysterious God voice) A WHOLE WEEK OF THE YEAR IN REVIEW....n-shit. Instead, let's git out science on.

I like my vitamins drip fed to me (even tho there is no proof it is better or whatevah).

I do believe that I wrote about the super awesome group called Sense About Science (SAS) last year at this time. Just like the Darwin Awards, SAS shows the stupid that humans do and in this case, the stupid concerning celebrities, science and stupid celebrity endorsement science. Without looking at last years post, just off the top of my head-n-shit, I would bet Annie's last bottom dollar that Jenny McCarthey and her autism research was one of the big winners. But what about this year...

For whatevah reason (money and gullible people) cleaning the inside of your booty was a huge money maker and people all around the country wuz doing the cleanse. Typical of pseudoscience there is a little tiny grain of truth to the effectiveness of colon cleansing( for specific purposes). But if you hear a claim that something is a panacea, that is something that can cure a wide variety of stuffs, then your skeptic meter should be going off. How or why does the butt douche prevent, let's say, sore throats. It doesn't, but that won't stop that money grubbing industry from selling that to you.

Presidential candidate, Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann said the science stupid this year when she claimed that she knew someone whoz daughter became "mentally retarded" after receiving the HPV vaccine. Will someone please tell the lawyer, she is a lawyer isn't she, Bachmann that correlation is not necessarily causation. Perhaps the woman's daughter stepped on a crack or walked under a ladder or something.

I do not have a TV but apparently there is a TV personality named Polizzi. This brainiac made the stupid statement that s/he doesn't like going to the beach because the ocean water is salty because it is full of whale sperm. I'm not even going to touch that one (rim shot, then laughter).

In another example of correlation is not always causation...A French footwear designer (is that a job?) made the claim that hi-heels are designed that way because that is the shape of a woman's foot when she has an orgasm. The belief is that if one puts their feet in that position they are literally putting themselves in position to have an orgasm. If it were only that easy, le sigh.

Gross, I Googled "hi heels orgasm" and a bunch of porn came up. Seriously, I'm anti porn.

Here in what is usually super awesome Sacramento we named our one and only big time sports arena after the creepy and fraud-y Power Balance Bracelet. Worn by many prominent athletes (Shaq, Beckham) the silicone hologram bracelet is supposed to increase energy, endurance, increase balance and totally give you an advantage over the loser that doesn't have one. Fo sho it could be one of those things, what do the cool people call it-self fullfilling prophecy, where you anticipate doing better and you have the confidence (even tho it is false) to do better, and guess what, you do better. but as far as instantly making one into super jock...probably not.

And lastly...a word from our sponsors.

"From fashion to fad-diets, medicine to super foods, and the environment to allergies, at Sense About Science we continue to monitor the science claims made each year by the influential and the famous. Scientists and members of the public send us the claims they have seen – about products, lifestyle choices and campaigns – that appear to make little scientific sense. We ask scientists to respond so that we can help celebrities realise where they were going wrong and encourage public discussion about sound science."

I just like this picture.

* Guardian UK

* The super bad thingy about the bad 'ol celebrity endorsements is that it might take years to reverse all the bad cancer advice, all the bad back problem advice and all the bad and incorrect advice...period. Most people can name hella celebrities, but the average peep not on Team Atheist or Team Skeptic cannot name a scientist much less know pseudoscience if it hit 'em in the head with a recently calibrated e-meter stolen from Tom Cruise's closet (what the hell did I just say).