Snake oil products that customers want to buy.

[DigitalEngine]

Spanish Fly
One time I actually bought a vial of the stuff and one of my friends asked me if he could have some to put in his drink *keep in mind we were teenagers then*.
No maxed out sexual activities there. No virility, no hyped up sex drive, nothing. Altho it did gave him diarrhea(sp?) for a couple of days.

Zevit-C
It's a vitamin C product in my country that's supposed to boost your growth/height if you take it during your .. um .. growing years?
I used to take handfuls of the stuff during my teens but I'm still short
No growth spurts here.
Of course, I was alot more gullible as a teenager. I mean, vitamin C that can give you a growth spurt?

Phenfluramine
I think that's how you spell it. Weight loss pills.
I lost like 20 pounds a month on it. Worked like a charm. Or so I thought ..
Turns out it gives you an increased heart beat, EXTREME lethargy, night sweats, and hypertension. I still have hypertension to this day. A friend of a friend actually ended up in the emergency room after her heart beat went out of whack when taking this medication.

Diazepam
Not sure what this stuff is supposed to do, but an ex-boyfriend took it once, and had facial spasms for a couple of days. Was entertaining, tho ..

[tacohuman]

Spanish Fly
Diazepam
Not sure what this stuff is supposed to do, but an ex-boyfriend took it once, and had facial spasms for a couple of days. Was entertaining, tho ..

diazepam is the generic name for valium, an anti-anxiety drug.

[DigitalEngine]

Just out of curiousity, tacohuman, how does an anti-anxiety drug give you facial spasms?

[Broomjockey]

Just out of curiousity, tacohuman, how does an anti-anxiety drug give you facial spasms?

Check the list of side effects for some random drugs some time. Facial spasms can be relatively mild. But I believe the clinical reason would be it interferes with the neurons responsible for facial muscle coordination.

[Mark Healey]

The section I hate the most in the bookstore is the New Age/Metaphysics AKA Woo Woo section. It is shopped by some of the most addled people I have ever met. These people believe that by reading Capra and Zukov they understand quantum mechanics. AAAHHH!! Nobel prize winning physicists admit that they don't understand it. They just have some math that seems to work.

It is also among the most fad ridden sections in the store, along with psychology, business & finance, diets books, and alternative "medecine".

My guess for the popularity of these sections is that people can't either don't like the real answer (which is often, no one knows).

Sorry, your loved is dead. You can't talk to them any more. John Edward (The Biggest Douche in the Universe) can't help you.

If you want to get is shape, eat boring food and exercize.

To aquire wealth, spend less than you make and save it in interrest bearing accounts.

If you have an ailment that doesn't go away see a doctor. If a quack healer (of any stripe) makes you feel better then a psychiatrist will get to the root cause.

[friendofjimmyk]

Billy Banks Tae Bo. Some sort of kickboxing workout thing. It caused a lot of injuries from what I've heard, for being a lousy workout that results in a lot of strains and from getting their asses kicked for thinking that this crap counted as martial arts training..

I bought tae bo

[skeptic53]

Diazepam
Not sure what this stuff is supposed to do, but an ex-boyfriend took it once, and had facial spasms for a couple of days. Was entertaining, tho ..

It sounds more like he took some sort of phenothiazine drug (Haldol, Thorazine, Mellaril, others), which can easily cause extrapyramidal side effects such as facial tics. If you take the drug long enough, e.g. to treat mental illness such as schizophrenia, the side effects can be permanent. Diazepam (Valium) can cause problems for people who are trying to withdraw from longtime use, but I've never heard of it causing facial spasms while using it. It's often prescribed as a muscle relaxer, although what it really relaxes is the brain.

[lordlundar]

Oh! Oh! I have another one! that pasta/vegetable boiler on TV.

For those of you who don't know, you put your pasta/vegetables/hot-dogs/etc. in this plastic tube and pour boiling water over it, then put on a cap/sieve. It then says it cooks the item faster than using a stove and then you just tip the tube so the water strains out.

Yeah right.

When boiling anything, the water needs to maintain a rolling boil for the duration of the cooking, and recommendations are usually a minimum 2 parts water for 1 part item being cooked. Now this thing barely maintains a 1:0.5 ratio and the water is barely at boiling when it goes in, into the tube with no means of heat retention. (the "deluxe" model comes with a heatable pad which the manufacturer says is usually unnessesary)

My godmother picked one up to try. Did it work?

[Seanette]

When boiling anything, the water needs to maintain a rolling boil for the duration of the cooking, and recommendations are usually a minimum 2 parts water for 1 part item being cooked. Now this thing barely maintains a 1:0.5 ratio and the water is barely at boiling when it goes in, into the tube with no means of heat retention. (the "deluxe" model comes with a heatable pad which the manufacturer says is usually unnessesary)

My godmother picked one up to try. Did it work?

Actually, my usual method of cooking pasta is as follows: bring water to boil, add pasta, return water to boil, turn off heat, cover pan, wait about 10-12 minutes (depending on shape/thickness of pasta). Very nearly idiot-proof.

[Broomjockey]

Actually, my usual method of cooking pasta is as follows: bring water to boil, add pasta, return water to boil, turn off heat, cover pan, wait about 10-12 minutes (depending on shape/thickness of pasta). Very nearly idiot-proof.

That sounds like a challenge! Unfortunately, I hate pasta, so I'll have to pass.

[Pinkie]

Actually, my usual method of cooking pasta is as follows: bring water to boil, add pasta, return water to boil, turn off heat, cover pan, wait about 10-12 minutes (depending on shape/thickness of pasta). Very nearly idiot-proof.

Speaking of idiot proof.....hardboiled eggs. Put your eggs in a pot, cover with water to one inch over the eggs, bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover pan and remove from heat and wait 20 minutes. Pour off water and cool with cold water. Best thing is, I never end up with the nasty green stuff around the yolks!

Sorry this is off topic, but I just had to share!

[Seanette]

Speaking of idiot proof.....hardboiled eggs. Put your eggs in a pot, cover with water to one inch over the eggs, bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover pan and remove from heat and wait 20 minutes. Pour off water and cool with cold water. Best thing is, I never end up with the nasty green stuff around the yolks!

Sorry this is off topic, but I just had to share!

Thanks for the tip, since I like hardboiled eggs, but am never quite sure how long to cook them.

[LostMyMind]

the cooling them off in ice water is the important part of his method. I do believe it makes them easier to peel too.

[Seanette]

the cooling them off in ice water is the important part of his method. I do believe it makes them easier to peel too.

Not to mention less burning of fingers.