# "How could anybody be &@#$\*ing STUPID enough to buy that and breathe?" products **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 22, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651 "2008-02-22T00:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/81 "2008-02-24T01:38:51Z")
[QUOTE=trupa] And the deodorant crystals… [/QUOTE] The whats now? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/82 "2008-02-24T01:55:46Z")
[QUOTE=BlueKangaroo] The whats now? [/QUOTE] Potassium alum crystals. They are used by new-agers and filthy hippies (and me, for about a week) as you would a deodorant stick. They cost more than they ought, and don’t afford much benefit. The particularly stupid part is that they are touted as “natural” and healthier than the usual deodorant. Because potassium alum is less “chemical” than aluminum chloride, or something. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/83 "2008-02-24T02:08:06Z")
I think I may have seen them in the grocery store, assuming they sell them their. I thought it was just a deodorant (not antiperspirant) for people with metal allergies. Funky. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/84 "2008-02-24T02:40:12Z")
Mobile phone txt “Love Tests”. As in “Need to find out if He’s The One for you? (alt Text: Find out if he’s a love rat) Text ‘Love James Kate’ to 1919191919” The “love test” part is bad enough, but then in the fine print you see it’s a subscription service and they’re charging you a stupid amount for every message they send to you. I want to hurt whoever buys enough of these things to make it worthwhile to have the ads on TV all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/85 "2008-02-24T04:57:05Z")
[QUOTE=trupa] And the deodorant crystals… [/QUOTE] Actually, this one works for the husband. It’s basically a giant chunk of salt. Changes the environs of his pit enough that the stinky bacteria don’t grow. He still sweats, but he doesn’t stink. Big improvement for a man who makes goats weep with his excretions. But I’ve seen Deodorant crystals that are just big chunks of quartz. Those are worthless. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/86 "2008-02-24T09:12:45Z")
[QUOTE=Justin Credible] Remember those ab-thingies that you strapped on your gut and they sent out little electric shocks to stimulate the abdominal muscles? The ones that would give you a ripped six-pack with no sit-ups? The ones that Bruce Lee supposedly used? Yeah, they don’t do shit. Yes, I bought one many years ago. :smack: Luckily, it was pretty cheap. I tried using it for a while to see if anything would come of it. Unsurprisingly, nothing did, except regret. [/QUOTE] I bought one of these, too, as did a couple of my teammates. We figured it was a scam, but they were on clearance at the Target I worked at back then. We ended up with DIY stim machines to help our sprained ankles. I don’t think it was that horrible. OTOH, I don’t know what use a soccer mom would have for it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/87 "2008-02-24T10:47:23Z")
[QUOTE=lorene] Not quite the same thing, but those so-called [poetry contests](http://windpub.com/literary.scams/). Every (poor, deluded) person I have known who has entered a poem in these is miraculously chosen for publication…and of course they need to buy the hardcover volume which contains their _Published Poem_. [/QUOTE] Read [here](http://www.songpoemmusic.com/trubee.htm) the story of John Trubee. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/88 "2008-02-24T11:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Read [here](http://www.songpoemmusic.com/trubee.htm) the story of John Trubee. [/QUOTE] Oh, my. What else is there to say, really? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/89 "2008-02-24T12:35:24Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Read [here](http://www.songpoemmusic.com/trubee.htm) the story of John Trubee. [/QUOTE] That is a great story! I’m glad I clicked the link. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/90 "2008-02-24T12:52:26Z")
How about “GATORADE”? Its a few cwnts worth of suagr, salt and water fro $2.50/bottle! ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/91 "2008-02-24T16:57:28Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] How about “GATORADE”? Its a few cwnts worth of suagr, salt and water fro $2.50/bottle! [/QUOTE] You could say that of any drink sold, really. At least Gatorade gots ELECTROLYTEStm\* \*This is a reference to the movie _Idiocracy_, in case my joke didn’t come off ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/92 "2008-02-24T17:11:40Z")
My sister is a health freak. Once at dinner she pulled out a strange device that looked like a homemade flash light. She turned it on and waved a red light clock wise over her food, then did the same over her head. When I asked what she was doing she said “I’m aligning the molecules of my food with my body”. She had spent \> $50 on a red LED attached to a battery that someone was peddling. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/93 "2008-02-24T17:19:01Z")
[I win](http://www.dumbphotos.com/images/Products/rewinder.jpg). I’m hoping this one is a joke though. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/94 "2008-02-24T22:00:48Z")
[QUOTE=DigitalC] [I win](http://www.dumbphotos.com/images/Products/rewinder.jpg). I’m hoping this one is a joke though. [/QUOTE] I actually laughed out loud. I hope to Og it’s a joke, I really really do. Personally I think people who buy those copper bracelets to “improve the quality of their personal magnetic fields” clearly have more money than they know what to do with. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/95 "2008-02-24T22:20:06Z")
The late night customers calling for investment guides that tell you how to establish ‘positive cash flow’ by purchasing a house for $150 with no additional money down always struck me as naive. Also the junk mail/ad business where you can make $10,000 a week just from stuffing envelopes. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/96 "2008-02-24T23:08:12Z")
[Amphibian Jesus](http://www.jesusoftheweek.com/jesii/479/index.html) or any of [the 20 religious products guaranteed to anger God.](http://www.cracked.com/article_15899_20-tacky-religious-products-guaranteed-anger-god.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/97 "2008-02-24T23:46:15Z")
[QUOTE=DigitalC] [I win](http://www.dumbphotos.com/images/Products/rewinder.jpg). I’m hoping this one is a joke though. [/QUOTE] Somebody had to _make_ that. With their eyes open in the clear light of day. I am stunned. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/98 "2008-02-25T01:37:51Z")
There is no way I’m gonna look for a link to this. ELECTRIC LOLLIPOPS. Yes, a few years ago, I was at a Walgreens, and there they were: a cheap electric motor with a Dum-Dum lollipop mounted on it. Save you the trouble of licking. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/99 "2008-02-25T01:43:42Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] There is no way I’m gonna look for a link to this. ELECTRIC LOLLIPOPS. Yes, a few years ago, I was at a Walgreens, and there they were: a cheap electric motor with a Dum-Dum lollipop mounted on it. Save you the trouble of licking. [/QUOTE] Actually, I can think of some, uh, “interesting” uses for those. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651/100 "2008-02-25T01:48:28Z")
HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! Geeze! People! It’s a stick of caruba wax, & nothing else! :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-anybody-be-ing-stupid-enough-to-buy-that-and-breathe-products/438651.md?page=6)