Daily Dose of Common Sense

You frequently hear people wishing for a return to “the good old days.” Study your history and learn the science, is what Dr. Amy Tuteur argues over at Science-Based Medicine. The days of yore were tough, and a lot of us alive today wouldn’t have made it way back then if it weren’t for modern science (me included).

Yes, there is obesity, heart disease, cancer, and more. But, the average lifespan just keeps climbing. As recent as the early 1900s, the average expected lifespan was only 48. And this was when food was organic, people got lots of exercise, and when doctors still made house calls.

Advocates of alternative health have a romanticized and completely unrealistic notion of purported benefits of a “natural” lifestyle. Far from being a paradise, it was hell. The difference between an average lifespan of 48 and one of 77.7 can be accounted for by modern medicine and increased agricultural production brought about by industrial farming methods (including pesticides). Nothing fundamental has changed about human beings. They are still prey to the same illnesses and accidents, but now they can be effectively treated. Indeed, some diseases can be completely prevented by vaccination.

So, don’t knock modern times. It may not be perfect, but it’s sure better than polio, cholera, plague, dysentery, and smallpox. In the good old days, “your doctor couldn’t do much more than provide comfort until your body defeated the illness, or until the illness defeated you.” Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.

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Myth or fact: Wearing a bra causes breast cancer? Answer: MYTH.

Apparently, there’s an Internet rumor going around (and we all believe those, don’t we?) that women who wear bras have a higher rate of breast cancer than those who don’t. Here is what Dr. Ted Gansler, director of medical content for the American Cancer Society, told The New York Times:

There is no scientifically credible evidence of this, he said, and the proposed mechanism–that bras prevent elimination of toxins by blocking lymph flow–is not in line with scientific concepts of how breast cancer develops.

He goes on to say that the idea that bras might cause breast cancer is so ludicrous that it’s doubtful scientists will ever waste research dollars on it. So, don’t burn your bras yet, ladies, and don’t believe everything you hear on the InterWebs.

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My daughter had a birthday yesterday, and I had several well-wishers ask if she was bouncing off the walls because of sugar. Well, no, actually she was no more hyper yesterday than any other day. Yes, she ate a cupcake, Cracker Jack, Nerds, and a bunch of other junk, but she’s a healthy kid. That, and there’s no such thing as a “sugar high.”

I know, it takes a second for it to sink in. We have been led to believe that sugar makes people (especially kids) hyper. But, it’s just not true. Our bodies do a really good job of regulating the sugar we intake. Many studies have been done on this topic and the conclusions are the same: the amount of sugar that a kid eats does not affect his or her level of activity.

Jessie from Rational Moms did a great in-depth debunking of the sugar high myth. I highly recommend giving it a read.

So, don’t worry about your kids being up all night after eating a bunch of sugar. They’re up late because they want to be up late. Duh.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: terren in Virginia.

This past week, The Amazing Meeting 7 congregated in Las Vegas. Today, the final day, $1 million was on the line as self-proclaimed psychic Connie Sonne stepped up to take JREF’s infamous challenge.

If you don’t know about the challenge, here’s the deal. James Randi and his organization have offered a $1 million prize to anyone who can offer scientific proof of the paranormal. Since 1964, no one has been able to win the money. About 1,000 people have applied for the challenge, and testing has been completed on astrology, ESP, dowsing, psychics, faith healing, and more. No one to date has been able to prove their abilities are real.

Today’s applicant also goes home without the money. Asked to dowse three cards, Ms. Sonne failed. To read more about the test and the set up, read this JREF blog thread.

If you believe you have a paranormal “gift,” then submit your application to JREF and try to win the million bucks. Until then, we’ll remain skeptical about anyone who claims to possess paranormal abilities.

My three-year old loves ghosts. She loves any book with a ghost in it, and Boo Berry cereal is always a huge hit. But, she’s never afraid of them, and doesn’t consider them any more real than Spongebob Squarepants. To her, as well as rational people everywhere, ghosts are fictional, amusing things. We can say this because the existence of ghosts, or any kind of paranormal activity for that matter, has never been credibly documented or recorded using true scientific methods.

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Most Americans believe that July 4th is the day independence from Britain was declared. Only it wasn’t. Independence was actually declared on July 2nd.

On July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring independence. In fact, John Adams himself believed July 2nd would be the day Americans would commemorate the anniversary.

On July 3rd, 1776, John Adams predicted in a letter to his wife that “the Second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

So, why do we celebrate on the 4th? First, that was the date Jefferson wrote at the top of the Declaration of Independence. Also, that was the day the final draft of the document was voted on and approved. It should be noted that this vote was not unanimous. New York did not agree to the declaration until July 19th.

The signing of the document did not take place on the 4th, as many believe. Some men did, in fact, sign that day. But most signatures were penned at the official signing ceremony on August 2nd, with a few more coming even later. The final signature was added in 1781.

So, celebrate with gusto today. But, next year, remember July 2nd, too.

[Source: One-Night Stands with American History: Odd, Amusing, and Little-Known Incidents by Richard Shenkman & Kurt Reiger]