Do You Think Your Shit is Valuable?

Have you ever heard of Clostridium difficile? It is a bacteria that causes digestive problems. Over 200,000 people each year are hospitalized because of it. Over 10,000 people may even die from it. Patients have started to become resistant to the antibiotics given by doctors to treat this bacteria. In an attempt to solve this problem, a company named OpenBiome is paying people for their stool donation to use in medical research. How much are they paying? $250 for a week worth of stool or $13,000 for a year! OpenBiome not only pays you for your stool but they also track how many people you have helped with it.

So what's the catch? how do you qualify? OpenBiome is looking for the creme de la creme of poop. It costs the company up to $5000 per screening, so they are very picky about who they let in. You must meet all of their health guidelines and pass several poop screenings. Also, you must be within the Massachusetts area in order to come in and donate 3 to 4 times a week. So I guess the question is, do you think your poop is worth anything? If you do, why not help out science and save a few people. The website is linked at the bottom.

http://www.openbiome.org/stool-donation/
for more information: washington post article

Hang Loose?

The t-shirt above has sparked a lot of controversy in a very short amount of time. Someone spotted this t-shirt in a TJ Maxx store, took a picture, and posted it all over Twitter. The response was overwhelming, as many people viewed this shirt as blatantly racist. Stating this shirt reminded people of lynchings, in a time where black people are still fighting against racial injustice. Others believe the t-shirt may support suicide. Everyone has been questioning how TJ Maxx could produce such an insensitive t-shirt. The company has since removed all of the T-shirts from all it's store. TJ Maxx and the creator of the shirt, Tavik, have both issued a formal apology. Tavik stated he did not think the t- shirt would be seen in such a negative way.
I wonder if it really is the creator who sent a negative message or an audience who distorted an innocent t-shirt. The phase "hang loose" is not a racial term at all, it's an old surfer term. The only thing that seems somewhat disturbing is the noose hanging in the middle of the shirt. Due to all the racial tension in America right now, there are many people on edge who are looking for prejudice and racism everywhere. As a person, I believe this t-shirt is due to simple stupidity. As a black woman, I worry more about racial insensitivity and ignorance in America when I see this shirt. How could someone be stupid enough to make this t-shirt and not know the racial implications that can be drawn from this? Just how ignorant is America? Where is our future going?

Fun Fact: Bananas are Cloned!

Yes, your read the title right. Bananas as we know it are all cloned! Mind boggling isn't it? Around the 1950's , after the extinction of "Gros Micheal" banana due to disease, it was decided that the "Cavendish" bananas would be genetically cloned. All the bananas were cloned to be exactly the same with small seeds that would not allow them to be regrown.

Just another way that scientist and the government control almost everything you eat. It is not impossible to get a real banana but very unlikely since they grow in the wild, no where near the United States. Wild bananas (real bananas) are smaller than there cloned siblings and have larger pods.

 

These larger pods are seeds used to replant the bananas. When comparing the two side by side there is a larger difference. It is disturbing to think that nothing we eat is real. not even fruit? Why I am I buy organic bananas when their all cloned? Beware of your food and where it comes from.

wild banana on the left, cloned banana on the right

 

 

 

Do You Still Eat at Mcdonalds?

I am not a fan favorite of fast food but I do indulge once in the blue. When I do, there are certain restaurants that I stay far away from. McDonalds is at the top of the list of fast food places to avoid. Here is one of the many reason to avoid McDonalds: The 14 year old hamburger!

These are pictures of a McDonalds hamburger 14 years after it was sold. A man purchased a hamburger before he started work and forgot it in his pocket. 14 years later, his wife finds the burger in his coat pocket. The burger had no stench or fungus growing on it. To the amazement of many it  looked only a few days old. The burger has been up for sale on ebay with the bid going as high as $2,000. One radio station even offered $5,000 for the 14 year old burger so their jockey could have the chance to eat it on air as a publicity stunt. You have to wonder, what exactly is mcdonalds putting in their food to make it look like this 14 years later. the preservation is great but so must be the amount of chemicals. If 14 years of mother nature and natural occurrence could not take this burger down, how long does it take your stomach? Why would you even want to find out? Yea, never going to mickey d's. The full video is posted below.

The New Addictive Powder: Alcohol

Palcohol, a new product set to hit the market, is alcohol in the form of a powder. The product was created in order to make alcohol more accessible on the go. Quoted from the Palcohol website “Mark is an active guy...hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, etc. After hours of an activity, he sometimes wanted to relax and enjoy a refreshing adult beverage. ……So he thought? Wouldn't it be great to have alcohol in powder form so all one had to do is add water?”

 This may sound ridiculous but apparently the government doesn’t think so. The federal tax and trade authority have approved the sale of this powder against many protests.

 

Several people are concerned about the consequences of putting a substance like this on the market. Already there is speculation that the powder will be abused. Mixing one pouch with 6 oz. of water is equivalent to one shot of vodka or rum. The fear is people will begin to snort the powder for a quicker buzz. Or a kid may stumble upon the powder and ingest a shot of alcohol or more before the parents find out. Most importantly, the powder alcohol may be easier to conceal than actual alcohol. Making it easier to bring into venues where it is not allowed and for teenagers to hide. 

The Palcohol Company has stated on their website that a product cannot be banned for the few idiots that will abuse it. The powder will be sold with regular alcohol, the age limit being 21years of age or older. They argue it would be hypercritical to ban the powder form of alcohol, when alcohol itself is legal. States such as Louisiana, Delaware, Vermont, South Carolina, and Alaska have already banned Palcohol. New York and Utah, along with other states, are trying to ban it before it hits markets. The product is set to hit stores this summer.

Written by Teri E.

http://www.palcohol.com/home.html 

TYT Powder Alcohol