# Weird Dave got burned! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 27, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278 "2004-04-27T14:53:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/61 "2004-04-28T16:01:20Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Except they fail to state that the user still has to EXHALE. Loss of short term memory my arse. I have no idea what you mean by either of these statements. I have a feeling that I’m being whooshed though… ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/62 "2004-04-28T16:10:14Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I recall a big boycott of Tanquerey Gin, whose parent company was the company that made thalydomide. This [page](http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/english/Th/Thalidomide.html) says > [@](#): > > Seven members of Chemie Grünenthal [thalidomide’s inventor] were put on trial for various falsification of records and attempt to cover-up the effects of thalidomide. The case lasted over two years, before the prosecutor decided (December 1970) not to continue, as in April 1970, Chemie Grünenthal had made an out-of-court agreement to pay 100 million Marks into a trust fund for the 2,866 known victims in Germany. > > In Britain, the drug was manufactured by Distillers, an alcoholic drinks company that wanted to branch out into the profitable pharmaceutical market. They marketed thalidomide under the tradename ‘Distaval’; it was widely used, with the same disastrous effects seen elsewhere. By the early 1970s, pressure was growing from the parents of affected children for compensation: since they were not legally obliged to do so, Distillers refused, claiming their duty to stockholders in the company. Matters came to a head as public opinion hardened against Distillers; around 1973, small posters began to appear nationwide - professionally printed, from an unknown source - urging a boycott of Distillers’ products, and listing the alcoholic drinks made by them. In the face of a barrage of bad publicity, and signs of an emerging boycott, Distillers capitulated, setting up a large fund for the needs of the affected children. It is amazing that a doctor in Germany would prescribe thalidomide to **GingerOfTheNorth** ’s mother, just months after the announcement of a very large settlement to the German victims. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/63 "2004-04-28T16:53:48Z")
My point is that it’s easy to look back now and point fingers at doctors that were prescribing thalidomide, even after news of its affects were made known, but we don’t know the environment of the time. How was a doctor able to prescribe this drug, if it had been removed from all pharmacy shelves? I could be wrong, but I don’t see the situation as people realize the drug is bad on Monday, and the drug is pulled from all shelves by Tuesday. I would say that from 1968 to 1971 was definitely within the window of how long it takes the wheels of bureaucracy to move. In relation to this point, I also think the procedures for removing a bad drug were probably not nearly as fast then as they are now, since we had such a bad thing happen and we (hopefully) learned a lesson from it. Anybody who is more familiar with this whole episode and what happened and when, I would welcome more accurate information than I have from doing some very casual research on this subject. Oh, and kick us the heck out if we’re hijacking your thread too much, **Kalhoun**. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/64 "2004-04-28T16:59:11Z")
> [@SaxFace](#): > > I thought the thread was pretty cute (and I love to see husbands be so good to their pregnant wives!!) and was sorry it was closed. For what that is worth. > > Regarding drugs while pregnant: I am pregnant and have crippling nausea and my doctor prescribed “Primperan”. I have no idea what it is (the descriptions are all in French) and am terrified to take it because I’ve read/heard one shouldn’t take anything medicinal while pregnant. I talked to an English speaking pharmacist about it and she said that I shouldn’t take it often but once in a while is fine. I’ve only taken it once in two weeks, I guess I believe I’m sick for a reason. > > The same doctor who prescribed the medicine is the same one who told me it was okay to drink a glass of wine every day. Well, it is France. > > Enjoy your new boxspring Gingy!! Ginger loked up Primperan at work today and found out that it’s a drug called “Metoclopramide HCL”, which you can search for online, I guess. The pharmacist there said it’s a catagory B drug, which means no known side effects withing the first 28 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/65 "2004-04-28T17:09:46Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > I have no idea what you mean by either of these statements. I have a feeling that I’m being whooshed though… No Wooooshing. The website (the one you linked…remember?), says “Inhale comfortably without smoke”. The herb is burned inside the vaporizer and then injected into the balloon. None or very little initial smoke. `Cept you have to suck the contents out of the balloon to get high. Then, I assume you should exhale at some point, which is where the smoke part comes from. The short term memory loss thing was just a play on the parts of the thread that, I believe, you initiated when you said the following; “What are the symptoms of your allergy? Dry mouth? Short term memory loss? Inexplicable food cravings? Short term memory loss?” Short term memory loss my arse. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/66 "2004-04-28T17:13:02Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I would say that from 1968 to 1971 was definitely within the window of how long it takes the wheels of bureaucracy to move. Take a look at either of the two pages I linked to in my previous posts. By 1971, thalidomide had been banned for at least **nine** years in Britain and Germany. Canada (the slowest country to move on banning thalidomide) was harshly criticized for letting it stay on the shelves for only four months after it had been banned in Britain at the end of 1961. By 1968 the “wheels of bureaucracy” had definitely moved. This was a drug with horrible side effects and even if **Ginger** ’s doctor never read a medical journal throughout 1960s, he almost certainly would have heard about thalidomide in the newspapers or on radio or TV. There was no excuse for a doctor to prescride thalidomide to a pregnant woman in the 1970s. > [@featherlou](#): > > Oh, and kick us the heck out if we’re hijacking your thread too much, **Kalhoun**. That goes for me, too. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![jesuslynch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e99b99/32.png) [@jesuslynch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuslynch)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/67 "2004-04-28T17:26:34Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > …Except they fail to state that the user still has to EXHALE. Loss of short term memory my arse. But everything turns out ok. You forget why you’re holding your breath. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/68 "2004-04-28T17:31:57Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > The website (the one you linked…remember?), says “Inhale comfortably without smoke”. > The herb is burned inside the vaporizer and then injected into the balloon. None or very little initial smoke. `Cept you have to suck the contents out of the balloon to get high. Then, I assume you should exhale at some point, which is where the smoke part comes from. It’s not smoke because nothing is actually burned in a vaporizer…it’s a vapor or mist, not smoke. You exhale the _vapor_. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/69 "2004-04-28T17:32:05Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Oh, and kick us the heck out if we’re hijacking your thread too much, **Kalhoun**. Hell…I’m done with my rant. This conversation is much more informative (and funny) than what I had going. I just hope the mods will think twice before closing down an entertaining thread. I mean, it’s not like it was grown men dancing naked in front of children or anything! Please resume your hijack, my friends. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/70 "2004-04-28T18:04:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I mean, it’s not like it was grown men dancing naked in front of children or anything! _stops dancing, gets dressed, waits for next post_ ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/71 "2004-04-28T19:27:29Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Maybe EVERYONE doesn’t really know Weirddave all that well, or who he’s married to, and what she thinks of drugs. Would it have killed the joke to say “Yeah, that box spring really did the trick!” at the bottom of his OP? I think he was being just a bit too cute with the joke. Warnable offence? That’s a bit much. Geez, as soon as I saw the thread title I new it was a blatant joke. I didn’t have to see the OP’s name – I thought it was obvious. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/72 "2004-04-28T21:10:34Z")
After the talk about Thalidomide this morning, I walked into the Director of Pharmacy’s office at work today, and there was a package of it sitting on his desk. I didn’t eat any. Apparently, it is used not only in cases of Leprosy, but also for Aids patients. They can sometimes get a similar skin condition to leprosy, but not full-blown, parts-falling-off, leprosy. It’s used to treat that skin condition. Now, I just wonder where the hell a North American would come in contact with a tropical/hot weather country disease. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/73 "2004-04-28T21:13:14Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > _stops dancing, gets dressed, waits for next post_ See? Now you’re going to get my rant shut down. C’mon, you guys! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/74 "2004-04-29T01:04:43Z")
> [@chukhung](#): > > Take a look at either of the two pages I linked to in my previous posts. By 1971, thalidomide had been banned for at least **nine** years in Britain and Germany. > > Canada (the slowest country to move on banning thalidomide) was harshly criticized for letting it stay on the shelves for only four months after it had been banned in Britain at the end of 1961. By 1968 the “wheels of bureaucracy” had definitely moved. This was a drug with horrible side effects and even if **Ginger** ’s doctor never read a medical journal throughout 1960s, he almost certainly would have heard about thalidomide in the newspapers or on radio or TV. There was no excuse for a doctor to prescride thalidomide to a pregnant woman in the 1970s. > > That goes for me, too. Sorry. Well, that’s what I get for arguing with someone who knows what they’re talking about. 😃 Hey, this is the Pit - I thought we could dance naked if we wanted to! ---
**Author:** ![Mame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mame)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/75 "2004-04-29T11:37:47Z")
**Ginger** , it is also used in the treatment of Behcet’s syndrome. A friend of mine has been on occasional courses of thalidomide for that reason. To save the trouble of Googling, as I’m sure the name is unfamiliar to most, Behcet’s syndrome is an immune disorder which unlike AIDS or leprosy, is not believed to be caused by an infectious agent. It currently falls into the category of “hanged if we know what causes it”. And to the OP, I agree that it was obviously a joke. I saw the opening text of Dave’s thread as the mouse pointer passed over the title, and assumed it would be a spoof. My guess was ballooning or skydiving! ---
**Author:** ![Ashkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/76 "2004-04-29T12:19:01Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > I hope your husband is being as good to you! Has he fired you from housework yet, like Dave has? [folds arms, and stomps foot] Awwww shit. Now that just isn’t fair. I wanna be fired from housework too. Got any ideas on how I can make that happen without getting pregnant. 😃 Congrats on the wee one. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/77 "2004-04-29T12:29:10Z")
> [@Cerri](#): > > It’s not smoke because nothing is actually burned in a vaporizer…it’s a vapor or mist, not smoke. You exhale the _vapor_. Really?, I just thought vapor was a nice word for smoke. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/78 "2004-04-29T12:30:29Z")
> [@Ashkicker](#): > > [folds arms, and stomps foot] > > Awwww shit. Now that just isn’t fair. I wanna be fired from housework too. Got any ideas on how I can make that happen without getting pregnant. 😃 > > Congrats on the wee one. I probably shouldn’t have said that. Now Dave’s gonna lose ‘cred’ in debates. Big mean Weirddave isn’t so mean after all, huh? You gotta be pregnant or half-dead from exhaustion every day. That’s just how it works. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/79 "2004-04-29T13:12:52Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Really?, I just thought vapor was a nice word for smoke. Nope. From [NORML California](http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/vaporizers.html): _Cannabis vaporizers are designed to let users inhale active cannabinoids while avoiding harmful smoke toxins. They do so by heating cannabis to a temperature of 180 - 200° C (356° - 392° F), just below the point of combustion where smoke is produced._ ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278/80 "2004-04-29T13:26:07Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Really?, I just thought vapor was a nice word for smoke. Well…water vapor isn’t water smoke, is it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-dave-got-burned/242278.md?page=5)