Daily Dose of Common Sense

In a case that will surely go down as one of the lowest points in our legal history, a California woman sued the makers of Cap’n Crunch cereal. No, she didn’t find something horrible in her cereal box. Nor was she gypped out of a prize inside. Instead, this woman was outraged that “crunchberries” aren’t real fruit.

The plaintiff argued that consumers are being misled into thinking that crunchberries contain real fruit because “berry” appears in the word.

It’s hard to see how anyone could dream up a case of fraud here. Regardless of the fact that the ingredients are plainly listed, the picture on the front of the box shows you exactly what the cereal looks like. There’s no big mystery. Luckily, the judge agreed and dismissed the case.

What next? Will someone sue because the Cap’n isn’t a real Captain?

If you don’t think our health care industry needs a major overhaul, consider the facts from a new study just released: more than 60% of bankruptcies filed are the result of families unable to cope with overwhelming medical bills. And, this percentage is expected to rise since the study was completed before the recession.

Interestingly, the majority weren’t folks without health insurance. 78% of the people had insurance, but were crippled by co-payments, holes in their coverage, and deductibles.

“Unless you’re a Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, you’re one illness away from financial ruin in this country,” says lead author Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., of the Harvard Medical School, in Cambridge, Mass. “If an illness is long enough and expensive enough, private insurance offers very little protection against medical bankruptcy…”

And, when people are forced to declare bankruptcy, you know who ends up paying in the long run. So, it makes more sense to find a way to make medical care more affordable for people before they sink into financial ruin.

The choice to do a natural childbirth vs. a birth with pain medication is always hotly debated. And, each side is sure their opinion is correct. Well, a noteworthy study has just been announced that will likely spark further conversation. A recent Swedish study concluded that natural childbirth classes didn’t offer any advantage to expecting parents.

The scientists had two groups of expectant parents who were all in their third trimester. One group received information and training only on natural childbirth, focusing on breathing and relaxation techniques. The other group learned about pain relief available during labor as well as how to care for a newborn baby. But, they did not practice any breathing or relaxation techniques.

The result was no difference at all.

When asked to rate their pain and experience of childbirth, both groups gave similar answers. Both groups had similar levels of stress when it came to being new parents. There was also no difference in the proportion of women who had an epidural, which was 52 percent in both groups.

So, don’t take anyone else’s advice on which method to use. There is no scientific evidence that one method of preparation is better than another. Do what makes sense for you and your family.

[Note: This post has been used with permission from RationalMoms.com.]

You’ve seen them. Big globules of spit on the street or sidewalk. Loogies just waiting there for you to step or drop something in. And worse than seeing a pile of spit is listening to someone expectorate one. Starting deep in his (or, less likely, her) throat, he coughs, sputters, and hocks until a giant phlegm ball comes out. Then, it’s deposited somewhere nearby for all to see.

Is this really how far we’ve come as a society? We can put a man on the moon, obsessively Twitter and elect a black president, but we can’t stop ourselves from spitting in public?

Many diseases can be transmitted through saliva and some of them can live for hours outside the body. In previous centuries and in more recent years, outbreaks of TB and SARS respectively led to prominent “don’t spit in public” campaigns. But not even SARS was able to curb the Chinese practice of spitting. It wasn’t until the Beijing Olympics that the government waged a full-on campaign against what many there consider an accepted activity. Perhaps we need a little more public awareness here in the states, as well.

The recent Swine Flu outbreak should be a wake up call to all of us–spitters and non-spitters. To the spitters: just stop it. It’s gross and we don’t care WHY you’re doing it. Invest in a handkerchief or carry tissues. Non-spitters: speak out! Admonish and embarrass the spitters until they are shamed into keeping their phlegm to themselves. It should not be acceptable social behavior.

Yes, we can stop public spitting.

If you’ve ever been uncomfortable on an airplane, you’re not alone. And, it’s about to get worse on some of the major carriers.

Delta, American, and Continental are all adding seats to the coach sections of their new planes. This is clearly an effort to cram more passengers on to already crowded aircrafts. Now you’re competing with even MORE people for overhead space (who wants to pay to check a bag?) and bathroom access. And, longer lines waiting to board and deplane doesn’t make anyone happy.

The spokespeople for the airlines claim a few new seat improvements will make the loss of leg room invisible to the consumer. For example, some planes will provide power outlets at each seat. That will be nice. However, it’s hard to work on your laptop when your knees are in your chest.

Out of all the majors, Jet Blue has the most leg room at 34″. And, they usually run good sales for cheap tickets, not to mention provide a TV at every seat. I’m sure they smell a marketing campaign here.

With the hassle at airport security, extra airline fees, increased wait time, and now even less room on board, a root canal seems like more fun than flying these days.

[via Pat's Papers]

As the weather turns warmer, kids start breaking out bathing suits. And, sadly, this means a lot of kids will drown. In fact, drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S., and 3/4 of all drownings take place between May and September. It stands to reason, then, that teaching kids to swim is an important safety skill.

However, parents might also be tempted to rely on water wings or floaties for the safety of their water-loving tots. It may seem like a good way to keep kids above the water, but this plan of action is not recommended:

Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as “water wings”, “noodles”, or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.

Many experts believe flotation devices have no place in helping a child learn to swim and should be used sparingly, if at all. Most importantly, these should not replace close and constant parental supervision. Children need to experience their own weight in the pool (while being held or closely supervised by an adult) in order to feel the buoyancy of the water. Always having a floatie or water wings on gives kids a false sense of security: they think they can swim when they really cannot. One of the best floatation device policies we’ve seen, complete with explanation, can be found here.

On separate occasions, I have witnessed two children, recently removed from toy flotation devices, jump into the pool and then flounder underwater. The kids forgot they didn’t have their water wings on and could not swim back up to the surface. Both episodes ended happily, with caregivers nearby pulling the children to safety.

Teach your kids to swim safely. And stay nearby. Even if they know how to swim, they could still get in trouble and need help.

Regular watchers of Oprah turn to the host for advice on what to buy, eat, read, and watch. And, while it’s harmless fun to see clips from the latest Will Smith movie, it’s a different story when some of her advice might cause serious injury.

Newsweek just published an excellent article called Why Health Advice on ‘Oprah’ Could Make You Sick. The writer questions some of the advice given out on Oprah’s show, such as Suzanne Somers’ homegrown hormone regimen and Jenny McCarthy’s “vaccines cause autism” campaign, because no science has been able to back these theories up. Then, there’s the “lunch time” facelift and Thermage, a procedure claiming tighter skin through radio waves. Both fell out of favor after it was revealed they had major downsides and questionable results. These are just a few examples of misinformation covered in the article.

Some of the many experts who cross her stage offer interesting and useful information (props to you, Dr. Oz). Others gush nonsense. Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can’t seem to tell the difference. She has the power to summon the most learned authorities on any subject; who would refuse her? Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous.

Television can blur the lines between entertainment and science. Viewers should remember that Oprah is more concerned with the first than the second. So, don’t take health advice from talk shows. Do the research yourself and talk to your own doctors.

You may think you have a chance at winning the lottery. And, you do. A really, really, really, really, really, really small chance. Just how small, you ask? According to ConsumerEducation, the odds of hitting the MegaMillions jackpot are 175,711,536 to 1. The chances of winning a state lottery are around 18 million to 1.

If you still think these odds are worth riding out, consider what has a better chance of happening to you:

• Being killed by lightning (2,650,000 to 1 odds)
• Dying from flesh-eating bacteria (1 million to 1 odds)
• Receiving a fatal bee sting or snake bite (100,000 to 1 odds)
• Being killed in a car accident (18,585 to 1 odds)

The odds aren’t the only thing stacked against you with regards to the lottery. It was discovered recently that some clerks were stealing winning tickets from customers. They would scan the ticket, see a big payout, then tell the customer the numbers were losers. Sometimes a clever ticket switch-a-roo was pulled.

If you play the lottery for fun, with money you can afford to lose, and don’t expect to win, then please continue. However, if your lottery money would go to better use elsewhere in your family budget, please remember the odds and put your wallet away.