Inspired by this post by shelbo in General Questions Penta Water - Can someone tell me if this is a scam?, I decided to start this post hoping to enlighten some, perhaps to get suggestions as to how to stop this crap and wondering if there are ways to pass better truth in advertising laws.
Firstly, most bottled waters need to have their labels read closely. Things like North Mountain Spring water is processed by the Jersey City Water company, which draws it’s water from the Jersey City Reservoir. It says so in tiny letters. Truth in advertisement doesn’t mean the disclaimers have to be large enough to read easily or be placed in a predominate place. Most waters of this type are not even given any additional treatment from the main water lines to the bottle, but you’ll pay 98 cents for 2 cents worth of water in a 4 cent bottle.
The Center Mount Swimmers Snorkel. A snorkel designed to strap on the middle of your face so you don’t need to turn your head to breath while swimming. Cost: $39.98. A standard Kmart snorkel will do the same, straps to the side of your head for better visibility and costs only $3 to $5 dollars.
A Sommelier which “ages” your wine in minutes instead of years.
I had to look this up. It’s a coaster with sides to set your wine bottle in to protect the table and has a cork-like top to fit in the bottle to let it breath. For you, like me, who don’t understand this, letting the wine breath for 15 to twenty minutes gets rid of the stench of spoiled fruit that often remains in the bottle. This magical thing improves the taste. It costs $44.98. How does it do this wonder? Magnettics! The two pieces are magnetic and infuse the wine with their magnetic currents.
(No scientific research has yet to prove that magnetic fields below those requiring enough power to light up a small city can affect in any way, any organic, nonmagnetic substance.)
To save space, lets add in all of those magnetic ‘healing pads’, bracelets, dots, disks, cuffs and whatever they try to sell you. As a brief comment, one healing pad, which sells for $40, does not have the magnetic strength to retain a standard paper clip on it’s surface. (Demonstrated on a TV show about fraud.)
** The amazing Amplified TV antenna attachment to allow dish owners to watch broadcast TV. Price: SALE: $69.97** It’s a small TV antenna curved to fit on a dish rim, with an attachment on the back for cables. These things have been around in different forms since TV was created. In actual practice, it uses the dish to help pull in standard TV waves, but does little to amplify them. You could probably get the same results by buying a small set of rabbit ears and duct taping them to the rim of your dish. Total cost then: $8.00.
Amazing Razor Rest Keeps Blades Sharp For months! Price: $19.98. It’s a chunk of ceramic formed into a block with a small magnet in it. (More magnetic mythology here. People are such suckers!) Resting your razor with the disposable blade cartridge on it after each use will magically keep the blade sharp 10 times longer than normal!
Only in your dreams maybe. You can get an average of 5 to 8 shaves from a regular, real cheap disposable razor cartridge if you clean it after each use. I buy a pack of 10 cartridges that are real cheap and they last me for two months, though they do get a bit dull at the end.
Here is a new version of an old scam that’s been going on since the 70s. Save $4 to $5 $$ on Every Fillup! Price: $29.98. It’s a small, plastic covered device that clips over your fuel line and (naturally) uses magical magnetic waves to break down the hydrocarbon chains into smaller pieces to let your fuel burn cleaner and better. It works magical preservation action on your engine also. The only thing it might do is pull out any minute ferrous particles that are in he gas, but then they’ll clump on the magnet, until dislodged in a mass which will probably clog up your injectors or carburetor pin valves. The mechanic will tell you, quite understandably, that you bought dirty gas. Actually, if you place it after your fuel filter, there will be nothing for it to catch.
Another favorite here, made possible by those disposable electric lighters. Ever take one of those apart to examine the little electric generator in it and get zapped when you flicked your bic? Price of one cheap lighter to zap yourself with = $0.98. This **Natural Energy Stimulator{/b] sells for $139.98. It is a 4 to 8 inch tube with a button on one end and a rod electrode on the other. It, like the lighter, uses Piezo electricity, only this delivers a bigger dosage - something like 30,000 volts. You zap yourself with it to stimulate the release of endorphins and cause your body to do all sorts of medical things to ease pain. We learned around two generations ago, when everyone was playing with newly discovered electricity in rather alarmingly dangerous ways, that no matter what form it is in, static or standard, it does no medical good. At least these folks warn people with pace makers and women who are with child to not use it.
Here is a link to an old electrical ‘cure’ device that I actually have, bought from a second hand store in 1969. I never knew what it was for until 4 years ago and you don’t want to know what people use current versions for today. I found out, and my lower jaw rattled off of the desk in astonishment.
Click here: Violet Ray Generators
The worlds only Ionized Bracelet. Price: $49.98 This bracelet is ionized by a special (trademark protected name here) ray that balances your body’s positive and negative ions! It covers all areas of your body instantly, not locally or slowly like others. This can restore energy, bring natural pain relief and even increase strength. Professional athletes consider it #1!!
I figure it’s worth about $2, depending on the metal it is made of, but no more than $8, if used as costume jewelry.
I could go on and on because I’ve catalogues full of this junk that barely squeaks past the truth in advertising laws. There are still those electronic muscle stimulators on the market, but I withhold judgment on them because I read years ago where medical experiments with electricity were being performed on paraplegics and such type people to keep muscle tone in the affected limbs. BUT, at least one expensive stimulator has been forced off of the marker by the FDA for costing a bunch and doing nothing except causing harmless twitches. The gear used in the medical experiments was a whole lot bigger than the hand held, battery powered devices they sell now for $99.98, complete with electrodes.
This stuff annoys me because you just know suckers buy this stuff up, make the seller rich while dashing the hopes and dreams of a cure or whatever was promised by the buyers. Our laws currently allow such scams to operate freely and by the time they get stopped, the seller has another one going and is fleecing the desperate and the ill for all he can get.
MODS!! Can I post a link here to a website that gives away free catalogues with lots of this garbage in it?
