As a kid, I always thought there were little men under the streets changing lights from red to green and turning on the street lights (sadly, I'm not kidding. But, come on, where did you think that quarter under your pillow came from when you lost a tooth?). I also thought if you slap someone on the back while they're making funny faces or crossing their eyes it would stay that way. (I still refuse to stand to close to the microwave while it's running.) Most of us have some quirky thing we just know to be true... yawns are contagious, reading in the dark damages your eyes, chicken soup cures a cold. But, has anyone ever tried to find out if it's true? Yep... And there's a whole book about it, called Never Shower in a Thunderstorm: Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About our Health and the World we Live In. Are oysters aphrodisiacs, does green tea help you lose weight, is bottled water cleaner than tap water, can toothbrushes spread germs, is it dangerous to talk on the phone in a thunderstorm? What were you always told, and still wonder if it's true?
Blog of the Nation
The author of Never Shower in a Thunderstorm was very irresponsible in dismissing the subject of swimming after eating. The caller gave a detailed description of how he had almost drowned because of a stomach cramp after eating. The author dismissed it by saying there were no statistics to document this situation.
I was particularly interested, because I know of a man who drowned under similar circumstances. The victim was an Olympic swimmer who took a dip in a private pond. A companion had some life guard training, but the 110 pound woman did not have the strength to rescue a 200 pound man in deep water.
The book should be edited to say that this situation may be rare, but the consequences can be deadly.
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