Daily Dose of Common Sense

From the Huffington Post, here are 15 toys to avoid for your kids this holiday. Some of them are weird, some disturbing, and some just plain wrong.

Enjoy!

Turkey gets a bad reputation as the cause of post-Thanksgiving “food comas.” This is where you’re so sleepy that you can barely function once the last bite of pumpkin pie has been swallowed. A myth has long been perpetrated about tryptophan, an enzyme in turkey, as being the cause for sleepiness. Well, that is just plain wrong.

Yes, tryptophan can cause sleepiness. But, here’s how it does it.

Tryptophan also can be metabolized into serotonin and melatonin, neurotransmitters that exert a calming effect and regulates sleep. However, L-tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acids or protein in order to make you drowsy. There’s lots of protein in a serving of turkey and it’s probably not the only food on the table.

Also, the concentration of tryptophan in turkey is the same as the amount found in beef and chicken, and even more tryptophan is contained in cheese and pork.

So, why are you so sleepy after all that turkey dinner?

Overeating is the culprit in this myth. Ingesting an excess of food can slow blood flow and oxygenation, which makes you feel tired. Many people are led to believe it’s the turkey that specifically makes them long for their pillow, but in reality, it’s just the quantity of dinner.

Don’t blame the turkey if you have to go to bed early tonight.

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Are you planning on getting up at the crack of dawn on Friday to snag some sales? The stores hope you will. The name “Black Friday” refers to the fact that retailers generally move into the black (in other words profitable) on that day. But, look deeper into the fine print on the sale items and you may decide to stay home instead.

Many stores pull some sleazy shenanigans to get customers in the door. Here are some things to look out for.

Limited quantities
Yes, those deals on the flat-screen tvs look too good to be true. The sales are real, but only for the first few people who can grab one. The stores knowingly limit the amount of items for sale–and there are NO rain checks. So, if there are four tvs available for the deal price and you are number five…so sad, too bad.

Sears has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, “Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks.”

“Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?,” Dworsky asked.

Taking advantage of not-so-tech-savvy consumers
Stores knowingly offer the killer deals on lower-quality products, especially electronics, because consumers won’t know the difference. These have far less features than the standard models in a product line.

Dworsky cautions that retailers usually don’t advertise these models as derivatives. “There’s no way the average consumer will know that the TV model they are buying is not the standard one unless they are savvy enough to compare their model numbers,” he said.

The risk
A Black Friday stampede at Wal-Mart last year resulted in the death of an employee. This year, some stores have changed their policies to avoid chaos, either staying open throughout Thanksgiving night or giving numbers to those in early morning lines. However, not all stores have revised the “winner-take-all” atmosphere of Friday morning. If you’re in the market for one of the hot items, be prepared to hold your own against the masses.

Also, you risk getting up at THE CRACK OF DAWN to come home empty handed. Talk about presentus interruptus. That would be too depressing for words.

Me, I’ll be in bed at 5AM on Friday. I’ll wait for the Cyber Monday deals and shop in my pajamas.

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I’m all for supporting local zoos, but reindeer poop necklaces?

The enterprising “gem”ologists at Miller Park Zoo now are offering necklace pendants from dried reindeer droppings, joining the explosively popular ornaments that debuted last year.

The necklaces go on sale this Friday for $15 each. So, get ‘em while they’re, er, steaming.

[Via PatsPapers.com]

Not everyone relishes the quality family time provided by the holidays. If you dread the upcoming moments with your kin like a Michael Jackson seance, here are some tips to get through it all in one sane piece.

At family gatherings, don’t talk about:

• religion
• politics
• the lack of seasoning in the food
• your lesbian experiment in college
• the inheritance

More tips:

Don’t expect to share a bedroom with your boyfriend/girlfriend if your hosts are conservative in this area. Just accept that you’re sleeping apart for a few days in exchange for some free grub. Better yet, offer to stay in a hotel nearby.

Just smile and nod any time your mother picks on comments on your _________________ (insert most sensitive topic here). Because she WILL mention it.

Make sure to keep taking your medication. Whether it’s Prozac, Ambien, Johnny Walker or chocolate cake, don’t try to go cold turkey around Turkey Day.

Pack a bag with snacks. That way, if you don’t like the food, you can sneak away for a Snickers bar later.

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Too much, too soon. That’s my reaction to this ad from The Gap:

Actually, I’m not ready for holiday cheer. Not this early, and certainly not with this much enthusiasm. This ad makes me think I’ll never feel cheery again.

Can we just get to Thanksgiving without the holiday hoopla? We know gift-buying season is right around the corner and stores count on consumers opening their wallets to make their year-end profits (especially this year). But, with some stores putting out holiday decorations in August, we’re already feeling creeped out. Give us some space, retailers!

Here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• In order to avoid the chaos and tragedy of recent years, many stores have revamped their Black Friday policies. For example, Walmart stores will remain open Thanksgiving night and into Friday morning to prevent a 5AM stampede.
• You may feel, like me, that rude people abound these days. Well, one woman is fighting back, one intervention at a time.
• Kellogg’s has decided to stop bragging that Cocoa Krispies build a child’s immunity. Added vitamins were the company’s defense, but they have now rethought the marketing language after complaints about promoting a sugary cereal as a health benefit.
• Facebook prevented a 19-year old man from going to jail. Arrested as a suspect in a crime, the man was able to prove he wasn’t guilty by the time on his Facebook status update. Social media to the rescue!

And, some did not.

• A Florida man called 911 looking for sex. FOUR times. He said it was the only number he could dial after running out of cell phone minutes. What the WHAT?
• A 24-year old Texas woman lied about having breast cancer in order to get implants. She shaved her head and held a benefit, then spent the money raised on breast implants. Look out, honey. The karma train can be a bitch.
• Three words: Michael Jackson seance.

Is your child dressing up as a witch this year? What about a gypsy? Or, perhaps as Darth Maul from Star Wars? Well, some schools and communities might take issue with these costumes. Around the country, there is a growing movement to eliminate “scary” or “inappropriate” costumes.

Guns, daggers and other toy weapons have long been excised from costumes at many school celebrations on Halloween. But in some classrooms across the country, the interpretation of what is too scary–or offensive, gross or saddening–is now also leading to an abundance of caution and some prohibitions.

First, you have to wonder what the motivation is here. Halloween began as a Celtic tradition where, “their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.” So, traditional costumes began as monsters, vampires, witches, devils, or skeletons. Does the desire to eliminate any “scary” costume come from a Christian religious contingent, whereby some devoutly religious believe that Halloween is a satanic holiday?

Second, can’t we just let kids wear what they want?

Restricting toy weapons makes some sense, as it is a safety issue. However, who is responsible for determining which costumes are too scary, offensive, gross, or sad? When someone starts making those kinds of judgements, next thing you know the only costume allowed will be a fruit or vegetable. “Ohhhh, that turnip is so scary!” Will a beet be acceptable, or does the red color make it offensive?

(Is this just a ploy by the Veggie Tale people, whose “mission is to enhance the spiritual and moral fabric of society through creative media.” Back off, religious broccoli!)

Parents and some educators said that restrictions like those at Riverside Drive often stemmed from a desire to protect smaller children from freakishly scary costumes, to maintain classroom order (spray-on hair color is often banned, for instance, because children tend to spray it all day long) and to keep from demeaning groups through costumes that play on stereotypes.

Parents should be able to use discretion when it comes to their child’s costume. Do I believe Freddy Krueger is an appropriate costume for a little kid? No. But, I wouldn’t call the Halloween police on the kid, either.

How is that sexy costumes for girls are becoming more prevalent and “scary” costumes are getting a bum rap?

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Let’s face it: we all want free candy. The only thing better than free candy is free money, and that doesn’t happen very often (like, never). But, there comes a point where it becomes obnoxious to intrude into what is, essentially, an event for littler kids. For example, have you ever had a trick-or-treater with a real five o’clock shadow? Well, the Chicago Tribune has a great piece today on helping us all learn who is too old to trick or treat.

Here are some of the suggested guidelines:

I say that if you’re old enough to shave, you’re too old.

Old enough to drive? Too old.

Are you old enough to have an iPhone? Too old to trick-or-treat.

Old enough to remember life before Google? Too old.

Older than Miley Cyrus? Too old.

Not sure who Miley Cyrus is? Beyond too old.

[via Pat's Papers]

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As Halloween approaches, it’s time for some old urban legends to be dusted off and circulated. First stop: Bobtown, Pennsylvania where the kids won’t be allowed to go door-to-door looking for treats. The scrooges in the small community have cancelled trick or treating. Community leaders say the radical step is being taken to keep kids “safe.” Safe from what, exactly? We’re not sure.

With a party at the fire hall, he says both the kids and the candy they receive would be safe.

Huh?

As Lenore Skenazy pointed out in her book “Free-Range Kids”:

Was there ever really a rash of candy killings? Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, took it upon himself to find out. He studied crime reports from Halloween dating back as far as 1958, and guess exactly how many kids he found poisoned by a stranger’s candy?

A hundred and five? A dozen? Well, one, at least?

“The bottom line is that I cannot find any evidence that any child has ever been killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating,” says the professor. The fear is completely unfounded.

Give kids their costumes and candy. They are in more danger of being hit by a car than poisoned treats. So, keep them safe by following some simple common sense rules, like:

• Always accompany young children and, if they’re too old to have an uncool parent tag along, be certain they travel in groups that are as large as practical. Be certain they know not to accept rides from, or go inside the homes of, strangers.
• Get your kids to agree to a move along a pre-planned route and stay in the neighborhood. It’s best to know generally where they are and to set a time at which they must return home to prevent unnecessary risk or worry.
• Be sure the costumes have reflective surfaces and have your kids carry flashlights and glo-sticks. Caution the trick-or-treaters to stick to the sidewalks and be very aware of moving vehicles and only cross at designated crossing areas and traffic lights. Spirits may be running high (in more ways than one), and nighttime driving can also affect the vision of the soberest driver.

The most you have to worry about from Halloween candy is a high dentist bill.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: YAXZONE