“but EVERYTHING is chemicals!!”

that’s not what it means and you fucking know it. stop putting weird shit in food.

Except it is, and believing you can tell the difference between “bad chemicals” and “good chemicals” from the label is exactly how marketers trick you into thinking something is healthier than it is just because they say “derived from natural sources” instead of the chemical name, which is not necessarily true.

Further, that “weird shit” serves a purpose. Potassium sorbate, also called E202, for instance, inhibits microbial growth in food and beauty products and stops unwanted additional fermentation in wine and cider. So unless you want sour wine, contaminated cosmetics, and things going mouldy in your cupboard in three days, it’s good for potassium sorbate to be in there. And if you were brewing your own beer/wine/cider at home, you would use it too. Various acids are used to lower pH in preserved fruits and vegetables in order to prevent botulism. Potassium metabisulphite/pyrosulphite is also used to prevent microbial growth in wine.

Some things are unhealthy, absolutely. Look at what happened with trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils, which serve no purpose except to cut costs. It’s good to know about those things. But I have also seen so many products intentionally marketing themselves to appeal to the “natural” consumer that are the same exact things as the “scary chemical” stuff they’re just called something different. Like I’ve seen a lot of soap labels where they call the ingredients “natural cold-pressed extract of Helianthus anuum” to make it sound healthier and less processed than if they’d said “triglycerides” or “sunflower oil,” which is what it is. It works the other way, too, where labels will intentionally play up scientific jargon the average consumer doesn’t know the meaning of so that their product sounds like it’s different and worth paying twice as much for, like, for instance, “micellar” soaps, which is just regular soap.

Other stuff serves an aesthetic purpose that does not have a negative health effect and is also not strictly necessary, but which if it was not there, people would think the product was worse, like the lecithin emulsifiers that keep your mayonnaise and yoghurt and peanut butter from separating unpleasantly, the sulphates added to shampoo to make it lather, or the carrageenan or alginate added to toothpaste and ice cream to make it smoother (lecithin and carrageenan both come from natural sources, actually — lecithin often comes from from soy, and carrageenan and alginate come from seaweed — but they aren’t always listed that way, so they sound like “scary chemicals” to skittish people). Alum is used in pickling to keep pickles crunchy; it’s not necessary, some people pickling at home prefer not to use it, but if you got a mushy pickle at the supermarket you’d be turned off by it. Sodium citrate is a salt of citric acid, which can be “natural” from citrus fruits or artificially-produced but which is identical in either case. It helps emulsify melting cheese to keep it from getting a gross oily layer separating out and to regulate pH in things like gelatine products, which would not hold their structure if the pH got outside of those bounds. These things are there for a reason.

As I said, not everything is benign or good for the customer, and that’s important to be aware of, but “ah this is a chemical I can’t pronounce so therefore it’s Unnatural and Bad” is NOT the same as being an informed consumer, and it actually makes you way easier to manipulate through marketing. Deciding that something is good or bad for you based on how it sounds when you don’t actually know what it is or why it’s there is not “doing your research” or whatever the granola hippies in the Facebook mommy group say.

I’ve been around long enough to expect that no one on this post will even read any of this, but in the interest of promoting actual consumer health literacy, I have to say it for those people who do.

The most buckwild thing to me, is seeing those types of ‘I should be able to pronounce all the ingredients’ folks get very up-in-arms on the subject of food waste. I cannot imagine how many safe preservatives they can’t pronounce, but i DO know how much more food waste there would be if said ‘chemicals’ weren’t in use.

i bought a $900 computer for $330 i love when i win

i found a roundabout way to scam a mega-corporation out of $600 i love winning and being gay

people asking about how i did this it's so specific that normies can not do this and I'm in a very specific position of power but i will not divulge my secrets

I will divulge my secrets, though. Buy retired corporate refurbs - they have nothing wrong with them, they just got retired because the company moved on to the biggest and baddest thing. You, as a consumer, don't actually need that. I got a $2000 programming machine for $800 from Newegg. Just search for business class machines and check for refurbs. DO NOT BUY CONSUMER CLASS REFURBS THAT MEANS THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE MACHINE AND WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS FIXED IS UP IN THE AIR.

Source: my dad who works in business IT and has been buying computers that last for six to ten years this way for companies.

Also don't buy Apple. The exception used to be the iPad, but Samsung and Windows tablets are just as high quality these days and sometimes even better depending on what you are using a tablet for.

A few years ago, I went ice skating on natural ice for the first time in my life and I was fascinated by the cracks in the ice. They were scary at first but I soon learned that it’s normal and not dangerous. I was amazed by the thickness of the cracks and the way they conveyed depth. Ever since then, I have recurring dreams about ice, and was inspired to make this painting. 

that some people respond to any well-foreshadowed reveal with “ugh that plot twist was so predictable” proves bad faith criticism has rotted their brains to the point they think it’s bad writing if they can correctly identify information the writers were intentionally giving them

I just call that my "story sixth-sense." I get all excited when it turns out that I was right about a plot twist/reveal. c:

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I need to let people know how dangerous the healthcare privacy climate is now. As someone that works with PHI (protected health information) I want to stress that HIPAA (the law that prevents your health data from being shared) does not apply to healthcare apps. These are incredibly dangerous to use, not only because law enforcement can procure a subpoena to access this information, but because these apps can sell your health data to any third party—potentially anti-abortion activists. Anyone with a uterus should delete not only period trackers, but mental health apps, because if you have a miscarriage or seek an abortion in a state that outlaws it, your mental health history can be used against you.

I would also discourage people from using online therapy apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace. Though BetterHelp says they are HIPAA compliant, that is a lie. They have shared data with Facebook. Their most recent privacy policy update says “We may share your information in connection with an asset sale, merger, bankruptcy, or other business transaction.” Any data breach could put your information at risk. Any health app could suddenly decide to change their privacy policies without notice.

Most responsible clinicians put your health data under (many times literally) lock and key. PHI software like Epic or Cerner have numerous failsafes to prevent data leaks. This is not the case for apps. BetterHelp and healthcare apps in general do not care about this. They only care about money. Do not trust any healthcare provider or app that operates strictly online. And for your own sake, use a VPN if you’re searching for abortion providers or advice.

If ancient Egyptians believed that the dead could view the world of the living through depictions of themselves does that mean Ramses II can see me when I watch Prince of Egypt

oh my god I just solved Night at the Museum lore

One of my top natm existential crises is "are the statues of historical figures actually those people? What makes them 'real' or not in a meaningful way?" but the tablet that brings the museum exhibits to life operates under ancient egyptian cosmology, so the fact that they believed statues of people were vessels through which their souls could see means that OF COURSE its the "real person", the tablet isn't just bringing statues to life its also allowing possession of the statue in body as well as in eye. Don't ask me what this implies about fictional characters like Lancelot or "incomplete" historical representations like Jedediah and Octavius that's not gonna send me anywhere normal

CAT by  By 九米 / Zhaobangni (1631123)

And when I say I lost my shit–and by all lost gods did I– I mean it.

unmute unmute unmute

for the love of EVERYTHING holy u GOTTA unmute

This was funny silent, but HILARIOUS with sound.