Busting Summer Myths

[snopes]

Common Summer Safety Misconceptions, from Snakebites to Swimming:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Summer...ory?id=3338075

[ganzfeld]

So some people really call a hangover "the queasies" ??

[Jahungo]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

So some people really call a hangover "the queasies" ??

Not only have I, like you, never heard of this in my entire life (or frankly, anything referred to as "the queasies"), I don't think the article was talking about a hangover here. Although IMO it is true that the staying hydrated thing is by far the best way to prevent a hangover (and what; I am doing right now), I think instead the article was using "the queasies" to refer to an upset stomach a la food poisoning or something like that. Not only are there no bacteria involved in a hangover (hopefully!), but if your hangover takes a "couple of days" to go away, I recommend you change your drinking patterns!

Still, I find that nothing settles the stomach like pepto bismol. Even if the effect is mostly/purely psychological, I feel so much better after a shot of the ole PB!

ETA: A google search for "the queasies" reveals it referring to motion sickness or morning sickness, but neither hangovers nor food poisoning.

[zabia]

Originally Posted by Jahungo

ETA: A google search for "the queasies" reveals it referring to motion sickness or morning sickness, but neither hangovers nor food poisoning.

Add me to the list of never hearing that usage with Montazoma's revenge (okay, no option near what I mean on spell check. I think this is how we ended up with "queasies".

Also, I would also like to add to this list. If you only put on sunscreen once you are protected.

False: have a brain. Thank you.

( I swear, I'm going to start a running bet on when the random 'it's that time of year' articles start showing. Also, double bets that amusement park stories are the shark stories of this year and about August we will get stories of backpacks are too heavy for kids.)

[charlie23]

Any snake that has yellow in its skin is dangerous.

Huh? I can think of several non venomous and completely harmless snakes that have "yellow in their skin." In fact, I can't really think of any species of snake that dosen't occasionally have some shade of yellow in the belly or back scales.

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by charlie23

Huh? I can think of several non venomous and completely harmless snakes that have "yellow in their skin." In fact, I can't really think of any snake that dosen't have some shade of yellow in the belly or back scales.

Yeah, talk about useless advice. Snakes with yellow: corn snake, milk snake, king snake, coral snake... I suppose it's okay to avoid them all but (if I recall correctly) only the coral is poisonous -- the most poisonous snake in North America. On the other hand, coral snakes aren't very likely to bite you.

Come to think of, none of the (few) poisonous snakes I've seen in the Eastern US did have a noticeable amount of yellow! (Diamondbacks, copperheads... -- and they are pretty likely to bite you, if you bother them.)

Unfortunately, there isn't any easy test for poisonous vs. non-poisonous. Just leaving all snakes alone is a pretty good rule of thumb.

[Avril]

Originally Posted by Jahungo

Still, I find that nothing settles the stomach like pepto bismol. Even if the effect is mostly/purely psychological, I feel so much better after a shot of the ole PB!

I find that nothing is more likely to trigger a vomitting attack than taking Pepto Bismol. The taste, along with toothpaste or anti-nausea syrup, is among one of a few things that cause instant retching when I am not feeling well.

Avril

[Morrigan]

*whispers* I like the taste of Pepto Bismol. But it does nothing for me.

Morrigan

[imjustasteph]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

*whispers* I like the taste of Pepto Bismol. But it does nothing for me.

Morrigan

I like the taste too...it prompted my first 'drug' lecture from my mom. I pretended to have a stomach ache because I wanted 'pepto bismo' as I caled it (our local drugstore always put the price sticker in the same place; I never saw the 'l' until my mom got sick of me calling it that and peeled of the sticker once to show me).

She gave it to me.

She waited about ten minutes.

Then she sat down and started talking to me about how medicines were drugs, and drugs were bad, and if you took medicine when you weren't sick, it was the same as taking drugs and that it could make you very sick. I started crying, and she reassured me that my pepto bismo wasn't going to make me sick....leaving me very confused.

But I still love the taste today....