So Bad it's Good

We're in the middle of the Holidays and everywhere you turn, things are X-mas themed.

This is Eccentric Spheres however and, of course, things are the opposite.

Today I present to you a Youtube channel that I found quite by mistake, but I've become very fond of: Good Bad Flicks.

It is a channel dedicated to movies that are good despite the handicap of being really bad. You know the sort, entertaining because they stink. Funny, exciting, corny, good-bad in other words.

I sat a couple of hours one evening and enjoyed the rundowns and reviews of movies I love, some I've never even heard of, and some that I've been vaguely aware of.

The best part for me, is the love and passion for these movies that shine through, giving every video a warm and wonderful feeling. There is also a wealth of trivia mixed in, which of course is right up my alley.

For example, did you know that there is a direct link between The Terminator and The Re-animator? Both movies were filmed in the same studio right after each other, and many of the extras and the crew were the same. In The Re-animator, a muscular corpse is revived, and the man playing the corpse in question, was Schwarzenegger's stunt double. Also there is a scene in Re-animator where the heroine Meg gives a magazine to a patient in the hospital with his jaw heavily bandaged. That man was James Cameron's father. Cool stuff like that.

The videos are pretty short, so they are perfect if you need to kill a short amount of time before going to visit relatives, or indeed before guests arrive. That annoying time that's too short to actually do anything, but too long to just ignore. Here's the solution, my gift to you.

I'm keeping it short this week, so that's it. Have a great week, and take it easy, and I'll see you on the first Eccentric Sphere for the year on the first day of the year.

Happy Holidays!

Extra link, just in case: https://www.youtube.com/user/trachenburg/featured

Tasty but Terrible

Christmas time is almost upon us, and while traditions vary around the world and from family to family, one thing remains as a common thread: food.

Fear not, I'm not about to share X-mas recipes, nor am I about to spoil Christmas. However, this is Eccentric Spheres and I'm going to take a dive into odd and scary food facts, and you're all coming with me...

It's a common fact that vegetables are healthy, right? Sure, but they might just kill you.

In 2015, an elderly German couple made a tasty stew from zucchinis that they had received as a gift from a friend. They both complained that the stew was unusually bitter, but the man ate the whole plate anyway. They both succumbed to cucurbitacin poisoning, that hospitalized them both, and ultimately killed him.

Spinach, cucumbers and peas have all been responsible for spreading E. coli, botulism and salmonella in recent years, but these are unusual cases, stemming from improper handling and storing, so no need to worry. Potatoes are another matter entirely, however.

The potato plant is a relative to Deadly Nightshade and is terribly toxic, that's why no one ever eats anything but the actual potatoes themselves. Fun Fact: tomatoes are also a part of this family so, do not eat any part except the fruit.

Anyway, in 2013, a Russian professor went down to the basement to fetch something. When he failed to return, his wife went down to see where he was. Then their son and the professor's mother went down, and they all died. A sack of rotten potatoes had created an atmosphere so toxic that it incapacitated and killed them all.

Then we have the case of the British fork lift operator who challenged his brother-in-law to a chili eating contest. He won the contest, but paid dearly as he later complained of acute discomfort and itching. He was found dead the following morning from a heart attack, even though he was in perfect health and had no pre-existing heart condition. Apparently he has ingested so much capsaicin from the challenge that he developed an allergic reaction, which did him in. Everything in moderation, kids.

Now, if these gruesome tales have soured your disposition towards vegetables, to the point of panic, you may be suffering from Lachanophobia, or fear of vegetables.

Other relevant phobias are:

Oenophobia – fear of wine

Deipnophobia – fear of dining and dinner conversations

Mageirocophobia – fear of cooking

Xocolatophobia – fear of chocolate

Ichtyophobia – fear of fish and fish related things

Arachibutyrophobia – fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth

and finally:

Cibophobia – fear of food.

Now Cibophobes can't survive without eating and it's rare even within the small number of people who suffer from this that it's a blanket fear. Usually it's about being unable to eat a specific combination of foods or food cooked by someone else. It varies, but is usually treated promptly and with great care, since the sufferer can in worst case scenario, starve to death.

Well, with that out of the way, it only remains to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday or which ever festivity you may choose to celebrate or not. In any case, until next time, have a great week and watch what you eat.

Bad Medicine

A month or so ago, my wife and I saw an interview with two young mothers in Finland (my country) who likes to not only drink Colloidal Silver Water themselves, but also give it to their babies. The reason being that silver kills most bacteria on contact, so ergo, it's good for you.

But, many topical treatments have a label that says “Not for internal use”. This is a pretty useful warning, since no one would eat Icy-Hot or some other muscle relaxing gel, right? Anyway, at best silver water does nothing for you and at worst it will give you Argyria and kill you. On top of that, silver water is ridiculously expensive. Researchers have found no benefits from drinking silver beyond the placebo effect, so please, don't do it.

It got me thinking about other weird things people have taken for medicinal purposes, and that's what today's topic is all about. Bad medicine.

In the early 1900's Radium water was all the rage in certain circles. No one seems really sure why anyone thought Radium was good for you, but like Colloidal Silver water, “it's good for what ails you.”

Eben Byers, a wealthy industrialist from Pittsburgh started drinking Radium when his doctor suggested it, and by 1930, he had several holes in his skull, multiple cancers and most of his jaw had fallen off. Very healthy...

During the first half of the 20^th century, doctors used to prescribe one of the most powerful painkillers in history for pretty much anything you could possibly complain about. The painkiller? Heroin of course! In no time flat, there were desperate addicts everywhere, clamoring for another dose from their doctor, which is why it's illegal to own today.

This brings us nicely to Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup. Popular around the late 1800's and early 1900's as a cure-all for babies and small children. Teething pain, diarrhea and trouble sleeping? Soothing Syrup time!

Of course, the syrup was pure morphine dissolved in alcohol. No wonder it worked, that would take the edge off anything, but sadly it led to death from overdose and lots of drug-addicted babies. Be careful what you feed you kids.

In the 70's a new wonderful drug was discovered and prescribed for depression, autism and incredibly, substance abuse. The drug is called MDMA, or more commonly Ecstasy, (or Molly).

Considering that the name Ecstasy is precisely what the taker feels, it makes sort of sense that you would give it to someone who is depressed, but a person with substance abuse issues? Yeah that stopped by the early 80's. Interestingly, today it's being looked at as a PTSD treatment drug. Time will tell, I suppose.

Between roughly 1920 and 1950, women were told to smoke if they wanted to loose weight. Doctors appeared in commercials, telling the ladies to reach for a cigarette instead of that candy when they felt like a treat. Sure, tobacco is a mild appetite suppressor, but it's not much of a diet drug. Then after 1950, instead of smoking, women were urged to drop those extra pounds by taking Methamphetamine instead. Much better!

Finally I want to mention ear candles. The idea is that you put one end of a hollow candle in you ear, and light the other end. This would create negative pressure, drawing out the ear wax. Except it doesn't work, and you are very likely to get an earful of hot candle wax instead. Oh yes, want to guess when this was invented? 1996. Stupidity is truly timeless.

That's all for now, so until next time, have a great week and stay away from dodgy medicine!

That sinking feeling

Well, I got somewhere about four hours of sleep last night. My brain is desperately trying to escape through my ear and back to bed, which makes expressing myself somewhat difficult.

As a result, you have to make due with a short entry today. What I have for you is a computer simulation of the Titanic sinking in real time. That's 2h 40m of water seeping into a big ship. It's actually more interesting than it sounds, so give it a go.

Until next time, I'm going to celebrate my country (Finland) being independent for 100 years, and at the same time hope that you have a great week!