Such lightness with fear
WHEREVER there鈥檚 fear, there鈥檚 a market. No sooner had Feedback been enlightened about the menace of blue light from LED lamps (19 July) than a arrived from Interworks Unlimited, promoting the Konnet Care Vision Protective Shield with 鈥渘ew advanced Patent-Pending UV Blue Light Deflection Technology with fiber coating鈥�. It warns of the perils of cataracts, nearsightedness, retinal damage and 鈥渓ens mutations鈥� due to ultraviolet light exposure.
What you really need to save your vision, it says, are shields that block 99.99 per cent of the ultraviolet light from smartphone and tablet screens at wavelengths between 380 and 400 nanometres. It is true that long-term exposure to ultraviolet light can contribute to cataracts, but only at much shorter wavelengths.
But is any of this relevant? The sun, after all, delivers a wee bit more blue and ultraviolet light to your eyes than a tablet, smartphone or LED. Best stay indoors in the dark?
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In mid-July, Richard King notes, the ad on the UK鈥檚 weather forecast page was for 鈥渟howers for the elderly鈥�. How wonderfully apt
Cleanse a foul infected world
OTHER menaces that offer very, very rich markets are those of infection and contamination 鈥� which magical thinking holds to be one and the same. A company kindly illustrates this by sending Feedback a for its 鈥淣ew flight-size air-spray鈥� that is 鈥減erfect for travellers鈥�.
Good news: their product 鈥渃ould see an end to the bugs that passengers pick up鈥�. After all, it 鈥渒ills 99.9% of bacteria instantly. Spraying hands with and using it to wipe trays and clean chair-arm buttons will eliminate bacteria, ensuring you arrive at your destination, just as healthy as when you left鈥� Hands are the most consistent point of contact for cold, flu and bacteria.鈥�
Hang on. The main infection concern on aircraft is about colds and flu. These are of course caused by viruses. Most antibacterials won鈥檛 touch these, though acid . And there are suspicions that overuse of antibacterial chemicals encourages the evolution of precisely the nasty bugs that the company warns about elsewhere in the press release.
We certainly don鈥檛 look forward to being seated next to someone obsessively spraying their seat and tray table.
Where pestilence did reign
THINKING about aeroplanes, viruses and horrors reminds us of the seriously worrying web address of a story in London鈥檚 Metro newspaper, which for once we shall give in full: . Someone had thought to correct the headline to 鈥淓bola outbreak: British doctors ordered to look out for deadly symptoms amid warnings of virus risk to UK鈥� by the time we read the page.
We most sincerely hope that the original headline, copied faithfully into the web address for the benefit of search engines, doesn鈥檛 become true while this ink is drying.
The powdering tub of infamy
LAST month we mentioned our recollection that 鈥渋nstant booze鈥� was one of those stories that comes around once every decade or so (5 July). While checking what the ingredients of the powdered alcohol product Palcohol might be, we discovered that this is almost exactly true.
In 1964, one Harold Bode filed for 鈥渁n alcoholic dry beverage powder鈥�, which focused on encapsulating flavours in modified starches but also produced an alcoholic powder.
In 1974, William Mitchell and William Seidel applied for a series of patents for 鈥渁lcohol-containing dextrin powder鈥�. , and assigned to the General Foods Corporation. One specifies that when 鈥渂lended with one package鈥� of Holland House Bloody Mary Mix鈥� the resultant cloudy alcohol beverage was judged to be of excellent quality鈥�.
Then in and there was a bit of a fuss about a German company (since disappeared from the web) marketing such a product. Does anyone have any sightings from 1984 or 1994?
Hide not with sugared words
BLENDING the themes of comestibles and mortal dangers, Feedback was astonished to stumble across a series of US ads that ran from the to the promoting refined sucrose as a health food.
One, from Sugar Information, Inc. in the mid-1960s, that 鈥淪he needs sugar in her life. For energy. She needs energyless artificially sweetened foods鈥� like a turtle needs a seat belt.鈥� It comes with a 鈥淣ote to Mothers鈥� that warns: 鈥淓xhaustion opens the door a little wider to the bugs and ailments that are always lying in wait. Sugar puts back energy fast.鈥� promoted the idea of eating sugar at 鈥渢he fat time of day鈥� 鈥� when you鈥檙e 鈥渙ver-hungry and want to overeat鈥� 鈥� to 鈥渢urn your appesat back to low鈥�.
Our appesats must have been set to high: we were eating sugar-soaked Indian sweets as we typed this. We鈥檙e shocked, but in no place to moralise.
We enter the forbidden gates
FINALLY, Jim Cable and Tony Richardson send photos of a sign at the UK鈥檚 lovely Beaconsfield service station: 鈥淎lcohol purchased at M&S may not be consumed on or off the premises.鈥� What, not even powdered alcohol?