Debunking Flu Cures and Toothbrush Myths
One reporter devotes his career to finding the truth in health myths.
Aug. 10, 2007 — -- We've all heard them — feed a cold, starve a fever; if a pregnant woman's carrying low, it's a boy; if she's carrying high, it's a girl; chocolate causes acne.
Myths about health and healing have cascaded from the mouths of overbearing mothers and well-meaning aunts for centuries.
But now, thanks to New York Times reporter Anahad O'Connor, the truth behind these old wives' tales and urban legends is finally being revealed.
Fascinated by the idea of debunking these myths, O'Connor began a column for the newspaper's weekly Science Times section called Really? [Insert Urban Legend/Old Wives' Tale Here].
After years of investigating such topics as "green tea can help you lose weight," "standing too close to the microwave is dangerous" and "duct tape can remove warts," he transformed his popular column into a new book entitled "Never Shower in a Thunderstorm: Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About Our Health and the World We Live In."
"We thought, 'What if we took the Science Times concept and applied it to these quirky, more fun old wives' tales, medical rumors and claims that we all hear about, but never actually get addressed," he explained in an interview with ABC News.
"So, I started doing this column and started finding that many of the stories behind how the claims came about were actually just as interesting as the answers to them, and so the column snowballed into this book."
Interestingly, O'Connor says all of the topics tackled in his column and in the book are backed by real scientific data. Yup, that means that there are scientists out there who get paid to have people drink gallons of green tea, stick their foreheads against microwaves or rip duct tape off their skin, all in the name of "research."
