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3/29/10 The Hallelujah Diet (2 Comments)

Tycco — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:40:55 +0000

Hallelujah Diet

When you start writing a blog about ventures that extract copious amounts of money from people in exchange for false promises and exaggerated claims, you know that at least one fanatically religious nutjob will get a mention sooner or later. And diets don’t come any more religiously fanatically packaged than the Hallelujah Diet.

It all started in 1976, when Reverend George Malkmus was diagnosed with colon cancer. You see, his mom had died from colon cancer, and he decided it wasn’t the cancer’s fault. It was the insipid doctors, and all their science based treatments and medicines that caused his mother’s death. So no more critical thinking for this guy. Ever.

After realizing, much to his surprise, that talking to his imaginary friend didn’t cure cancer either, he decided that the only practical solution was to eat only the kind of food that grew in the Garden of Eden from the Bible. I mean, you have 2 whole people there, and, as far as we know, neither of them got cancer, so it’s 100% effective, right? After his own cancer went into remission by itself (which cancers sometimes do), he devoted his life to promoting what is essentially a raw-vegan diet, telling people that people don’t need to get sick and that his diet can prevent and cure any affliction under the sun.

Of course, eating nothing but fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will almost inevitably lead to weight loss, due to the scarcity of calories, but diets such as this can be very unhealthy for the following reasons.

No Vitamin B-12, which makes DNA, protects the nervous system, and makes blood cells.
No Vitamin D, which allows transport of calcium to your bones
Deficient in 7 other micronutrients

Don’t worry, the always altruistic George Malkmus has a solution for that: supplements that cost upwards of $2,000 a year.

And besides, no energy, osteoporosis, and a faulty nervous system are a small price to pay to know that you’re never going to get cancer, right? I mean, if you go through all the other stuff, and then get cancer, that’s just beyond horrible. Well, guess where humans get most of their carcinogens. FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND GRAINS! That’s right! This diet that causes all kinds of horrible health deficiencies doesn’t even do the one good thing the diet’s creator says it does. In fact, it does the exact opposite. And it costs a lot, too! There’s absolutely nothing good about this diet, and all the wishful thinking in the world won’t change that at all.

January 20 – Roller Coaster – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:27:22 +0000

On January 20, 1885, La Marcus Adna Thompson patented the first roller coaster. His “Switchback Railway” was an attraction at Coney Island, carrying people 600 feet down an inclined rail at 6 miles per hour.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=TjFMAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_coaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchback_Railway

December 28 – Stan Lee – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:32:47 +0000

On December 28, 1922, Stan Lee was born. He is the co-creator of the Fantastic Four, Spider Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, and Iron Man. He is 87 years old today.

Sources:
http://www.ironmanarmory.com/STANLEE.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee

December 25 – Stone of Destiny – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:24:06 +0000

On December 25, 1950, four Scottish students stole the Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish kings were coronated upon before it was captured and used by English monarchs.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_of_Scone
Stone of Destiny Movie

December 20 – Summit Tunnel Fire – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:24:10 +0000

On December 20, 1984, a train transporting tankers of gasoline through a railway tunnel in England derailed and caused one of the worst underground fires in history. In all, over 730 tons of gasoline burned in the tunnel. There were no fatalities.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_tunnel_fire

December 16 – Last Mount Fuji Eruption – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:02:51 +0000

On December 16, 1707, Mount Fuji experienced its last eruption. Mount Fuji is the largest mountain in Japan and is still an active volcano.

Sources:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0803-03=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_fuji
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoei_eruption_of_Mount_Fuji

December 14 – Rutan Voyager – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:08 +0000

On December 14, 1986, the Model 76 Voyager took off on a 9-day nonstop flight that flew around the world without refueling.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Voyager

December 10 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:21:45 +0000

On December 10, 1948, the United Nation ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a 48-0 vote with 8 abstentions.

Note: I’m still reading through the UDHR. You can too, at the United Nations UDHR page.

December 9 – Smallpox Eradicated – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:20:49 +0000

On December 9, 1979, a group of scientists certified that the disease smallpox had been eradicated from the wild. Five months later the World Health assembly agreed that they were right.

December 8 – NAFTA – SNAP Fact (No Comments)

Steven Bush — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:34:28 +0000

On December 8, 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton (after Geroge H.W. Bush signed it in 1992 and it was ratified by the House and Senate in November 1993).

Sources:
http://useconomy.about.com/od/tradepolicy/p/NAFTA_History.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement