 Wyatt the Odd   | 04 Jan 2011 2:26 p.m. PST |
Not surprisingly, the makers of the PowerBalance magic wristband have been forced to admit that they made up the whole thing and that their product is about as effective as a bunch of rubber bands around one's wrist. gizmodo.com/5723577 I personally hail this decision because it means one less set of annoying adverts on TV. Wyatt |
 The Editor  | 04 Jan 2011 2:47 p.m. PST |
Sure I can't interest you in a copper wrist band that improves your health though its magnetic properties? |
 Pictors Studio  | 04 Jan 2011 3:22 p.m. PST |
Don't worry, there will be a new set of annoying advertisements along soon enough. People have been successfully selling snake oil of various kinds for centuries, there is no reason to think that they will be stopping anytime soon. |
| Farstar | 04 Jan 2011 3:36 p.m. PST |
Used to know a Magnets guy. He had all the characteristics of a snake oil salesman, including not recalling that he had tried the same spiel on the same people the week before. |
 Black Cavalier | 04 Jan 2011 5:59 p.m. PST |
I remember an "article" in Wargames Illustrated where some loon went on for 2 pages about how his magnetic wristband helped him play wargames again, of course ending with his info if anyone wanted to buy one. |
 John the OFM | 04 Jan 2011 6:22 p.m. PST |
Is this like the herbal cure for the common cold recipe invented by a second grade teacher? |
Top Gun Ace  | 04 Jan 2011 7:27 p.m. PST |
Yep, all the people that buy stuff like that are just stupid, but the marketing/snake oil salesmen are brilliant. Of course it doesn't work. To get the true positive benefits of magnetism, everyone knows you must wear one on the top and bottom of your tongue. They'll enhance your sex life too. We're selling matched sets at a special price, this month only. Buy one for your wife, mistress, or significant other for Valentine's Day!!! E-mail me for details quickly, since our stock is limited, and demand is sure to be high. |
| Farstar | 04 Jan 2011 7:32 p.m. PST |
That would be "Airborn", John, which at least is a mash of stuff that is supposedly good for you. A recently released study talks about a placebo working surprisingly often even when the person knows they are getting a placebo. Combine this with another recent study that says that "the Common Cold" is less the ravages of a bug and more our body's over-reaction to it, and Airborn isn't quite as outlandish. I can even see the slightest possibility that magnetic healing might be less than 100% quackery. PowerBalance, on the other wrist, is pure placebo, at $30 USD each. |
| Whatisitgood4atwork | 04 Jan 2011 7:52 p.m. PST |
It's interesting that some of the first modern consumer protection legislation was created to protect people from quack medicine scams. But they're still at it – along with any weight loss product that does not include lowering your calories and/or increasing your activity. |
| Wyatt the Odd | 04 Jan 2011 10:29 p.m. PST |
The one that still gets me to this day (even above and beyond "Airborn") is "Head-On". The ingredients in there are actually toxic. Wyatt |
