Magnetic Bracelets again.

[Soapy Sam]

Last week, I was in a very well known UK high Street pharmacy & chemist. Among the "Health" items, I noticed some "Magnetic Copper" bracelets.

The packaging decribed it as an item of jewellery, but went on to say "It is believed", followed by various claims about rheumatism etc.

I took one to the store pharmacist and asked if she believed the claims. She was immediately defensive and refused to directly answer the question, save to say that so many people believed it, there had to be some beneficial effect.

I sympathise with her position; she is not the store buyer and had no idea who I might be-perhaps a rep. for the manufacturer.

Still, this stuff is on the same shelf as basic first aid items, in a shop long accepted by the public as selling genuine medical products. Many people will think that if it was no good, it would not be there. Circular argument.

So the voodoo perpetuates itself.

 

[jim_scotti]

I've seen these silly things at WalMart too. I was thinking I should make a small sticker to affix to the packaging to debunk the claims made on the package....

Jim.

 

[The Bad Astronomer]

Jim Scotti!

Well, dagnappit, now I'm not the most coolest astronomer on this board anymore. Jim, have you posted in the "New posters" thread yet? Let people know who you are...

 

[jim_scotti]

Hey Phil! Thanks! I actually joined this forum about 2 years ago, but I have only rarely posted to it at least until recently, though my posting rate these days is not all that high - not much time to read these kinds of boards while trying to save the planet from those mean old asteroids....

Jim.

 

[Goshawk]

Well, at every "foot stuff" display I've ever seen, the one where they have all the Dr. Scholl's foot powder and insoles and stuff, at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc., they also always have a good supply of magnetic insoles. People believe in it, they buy them, market forces do the rest.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Yes. And they are such intensely POWERFUL magnets, that they don't even stick to a fridge door. Next time you are in Walmart, try it.


And may I say I too am happy to have Jim Scotti appear in this thread. Don't worry , Phil, I'm sure a bunch of folk here know his name.

I could hardly have been more surprised to see the ghost of Gene Shoemaker posting here!

 

[jim_scotti]

Yes. And they are such intensely POWERFUL magnets, that they don't even stick to a fridge door. Next time you are in Walmart, try it.

So what you're saying is that these magnet therapy products wouldn't even be good enough to use to erase all those old floppy disks and tapes we have lying around..... I still say I should make up some debunking stickers to apply to this junk.....

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
And may I say I too am happy to have Jim Scotti appear in this thread. Don't worry , Phil, I'm sure a bunch of folk here know his name.

Hey you're making me sound like I'm Yoda or something..... (I always wanted to figure out a way to use that jedi smiley....)

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
I could hardly have been more surprised to see the ghost of Gene Shoemaker posting here!

Being a skeptic, I haven''t seen enough evidence of ghosts to expect to see Gene Shoemakers ghost running around here, but if I had to make a list of ghosts I'd like to visit with, Gene Shoemaker would probably be on that list, if for no other reason than to find out what his current estimate of the flux of cometary vs. asteroidal impactors on Earth is (last time I talked to him about it it had dropped to around 10% as I recall, from a high of about 50% the first time I heard him talk about it....).

Jim.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Aye. The trouble with mediums is quality control.
They never seem to channel anyone who knows something we didn't know already!

 

[Mercutio]

I've seen these silly things at WalMart too. I was thinking I should make a small sticker to affix to the packaging to debunk the claims made on the package....

Jim.

A wonderful idea! Do you have a specific style in mind? (an old issue of the "auto-free times" had instructions and suggestions on making "surgeon-general style" warning labels for SUV's and gas pumps--are you thinking of that sort of thing?)

Warning: use of this product is not recommended by anyone with a brain.

Address label sheets have just about the right size paper for a small, well-formatted message.

 

[jim_scotti]

A wonderful idea! Do you have a specific style in mind? (an old issue of the "auto-free times" had instructions and suggestions on making "surgeon-general style" warning labels for SUV's and gas pumps--are you thinking of that sort of thing?)

Warning: use of this product is not recommended by anyone with a brain.

Address label sheets have just about the right size paper for a small, well-formatted message.

That's not a bad idea. I hadn't got past the basic idea of afixing a label.... I was thinking of finding the best webpage debunking the magnets to include in such a label along with a sentence or so. I was definitely thinking of a small Avery type label that could be pre-printed and easily and quickly applied.... Of course, I hadn't gotten past that point in my thinking on the subject....

JIm.

 

[RSLancastr]

Maybe just a small, round sticker with the word "WORKS" inside the red circle-with-a-slash.

 

[jim_scotti]

Maybe just a small, round sticker with the word "WORKS" inside the red circle-with-a-slash.

That's a great idea and would be usefull as a general sticker to apply to any hogwash one runs across while shopping!

Jim.

 

[Mercutio]

I like it, but I also like the idea of a surgeon-general type notice (where appropriate) saying something like This device/product has been shown, through scientific testing, to be completely useless. It is a waste of your money and an insult to your intelligence.

Hmmm...maybe combine the two. The warning would look great alongside a circle-slash...

 

[BillyJoe]

WARNING: There's probably a law against this.

 

[BillyJoe]

.....so don't get caught.

 

[Mercutio]

In the Auto-Free Times version of this, they make sure to tell the reader "be sure to ask the permission of the owner before you place the stickers" on SUVs or Gasoline pumps.


Maybe I'll just request that they let me know in writing 2 weeks in advance if they don't want me to make their store more honest.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Mercutio- I suspect the problem with "Health"aids is the burden of proof. "Caveat emptor" is pretty well taken as read. (I can't prove vitamin supplements are good for me, but they sell by the ton).

By packaging the bracelet as "jewellery" and using words like "It is believed..." neither the store nor the manufacturer is doing anything illegal.

My own inclination is to write to the company concerned, pointing out that their reputation is brought into question by the selling of such fringe items. Appeal to reason and reputation.

I'm abroad now, but I will check their website. They may have a customer feedback address.

I'll let you know what ensues.

Before leaping into something like this, we also need to remember that the person put out of work if the manufacturer closed down is unlikely to be the owner. Much more likely to be some unskilled machine operator working a graveyard shift to keep her kids in sneakers.


EDIT- I checked their site. Very clear, with a Contact Us button right on the home page. So I have e-mailed with the same info as the lead post here. Site promises a reply in 48 hours. I have asked for their comment and will pass it on here.

 

[DrMatt]

usenet and thole

Hey Phil! Thanks! I actually joined this forum about 2 years ago, but I have only rarely posted to it at least until recently, though my posting rate these days is not all that high - not much time to read these kinds of boards while trying to save the planet from those mean old asteroids....

Jim.

Oh oh oh, asteroids! On Usenet I sometimes encounter this curious personality named Dave Tholen, whose messages seem to indicate that he believes everybody else is out to antagonize him. I looked him up and he seems to have something to do with asteroid researcher--does that ring a bell?

 

[jim_scotti]

Re: usenet and thole

Oh oh oh, asteroids! On Usenet I sometimes encounter this curious personality named Dave Tholen, whose messages seem to indicate that he believes everybody else is out to antagonize him. I looked him up and he seems to have something to do with asteroid researcher--does that ring a bell?

Actually, Dave is a friend of mine. While some of his internet behavior baffles me (for example what I've heard of him in music and basketball usenet forums), I can see some of his motivation, particularly in the astronomy forums as attempting to battle pseudoscience. Unfortunately, he seems to alienate posters who are on his side of the argument far too easily and he seems to be just a little too agressive in his persuits....

Dave is actually a very good observer too, focused on getting the highest precision out of his photometry which has earned him the nickname "Dr. Millimag" amongst some of his colleagues.

Jim.

 

[andycal]

Back to the original subject of the post - I have just sent an email to Boots the Chemist and asked them for evidence of the claims made on their magnetic bracelet things.

I'm also checking out the ASA to see if I can complain about them - it right cheeses me off that high-street stores can perpetuate these sort of myths...