My Guardian post is meant as a parody of the Buzzfeeds article that I linked to at the top of the piece. I thought it was explicit enough to make that clear, however this doesn't appear to be the case.
My only intent was to show how, with the wrong spin, you can make anything sound dangerous.
So in case things still aren't clear.
1) E290 is just carbon dioxide. We breath it out all the time and is safe to consume in foods.
2) 8-methyl-N-vannillyl-6-noneamide is also know as capsaicin. It generates the 'heat' in chilli peppers and spice food. Riot police also use it a tear gas.
3) Denatured proteins in eggs don't cause any diseases.
4) DHMO or dihydrogen monoxide is just water
5) NaCl, as many have pointed out is table salt. The fact that both sodium and chlorine are dangerous is irrelevant.
6) And uranium oxide has long been used to make green glass. It too is perfectly safe.
Hilarious!! I laughed till I cried!
ReplyDeleteMark, This is like a joke in Latin that only Latin scholars understands. We who do not know the difference may take it seriously and there are some people who are unscrupulous enough to take advantage of it by trying to sell a cure for something that does not exist quoting the Guardian.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I've been a little taken aback by the response. I intended the piece to be a clear parody of the Buzzfeeds article. Obviously I was more subtle that I thought.
DeleteI'm surprised too. I don't think it's subtlety that's the problem though... I think your article highlights the fundamental lack of basic science education and inability of many to think critically. You even spelled it out by giving people links!
ReplyDeletePerhaps people need to learn that understanding should happen before voicing opinion; and of course that blue text with a line underneath means click here to know more...
Halfway through I was, like, is this a joke? And then I realised that it was. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteDid no one click on the many links? I was thrown as I first scanned it over, but then I saw NaCL and got the point and sat down to read it properly. Loved it and am sharing it. A friend who is a scientist first sent it to me, and I'm now wondering how my various Facebook friends are going to react.
ReplyDeleteso when i clicked on E290 and reached a food site in the Netherlands: it's a normal natural gas..........................never studied science unfortunately
ReplyDeleteLOL. - look anyone could click the links if they didn't know :-)
ReplyDeleteThe comments on the article are great. Many people complaining about such chemicals. Very well written!
ReplyDelete