Cynical Activities - A
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ALLERGY MEDICINES
The antihistamines in many allergy medicines may affect your ability to drive more than alcohol does. On the other hand, how well do you drive while you're sneezing? |
AMERICA
The U.S. has only 4 percent of the world's population, but it's responsible for 24 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions thatare expected to cause increased disease, death, and economic disruption throughout the world. |
AMERICAN, BEING
There's nothing remotely funny about this, but being an American is a mixed blessing. In the decade before the events of September 2001, 36 percent of all terrorist attacks worldwide were directed at American interests. It is especially dangerous to be an American abroad. At any given moment, the U.S. State Department has a list of twenty or more countries Americans should avoid, and others they should think twice about visiting. In periodic "Worldwide Cautions" (for example, during tensions in the Middle East in October 2000, and following the atrocities in September 2001), the State Department warns of periods of heightened threat to American citizens and interests everywhere in the world. |
AMERICAN STUDENT, BEING AN
In a study of fifteen-year-olds in thirty-one countries, American students ranked fourteenth in science, fifteenth in literacy, and nineteenth in mathematics. But they came first in TV trivia, joystick skills, and marshmallow fluff consumption. |
AMUSEMENT RIDES
More than ten thousand people require emergency room treatment in the U.S. each year, and an average of four of these die, as a result of injuries sustained on rides at amusement parks and fairs. Not much amusement there. |
ANGER
Don't let this get you mad: if you're prone to anger, even if you have normal blood pressure, you're at significantly greater risk of having a heart attack or dying suddenly from heart disease. |
ANTIBIOTICS
Next time they ask if you're allergic to penicillin, you might want to say yes for all our sakes. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics have led to the evolution of "superbugs," potentially deadly bacteria that are becoming next to impossible to treat, as well as bacteria that cause food poisoning and drug-resistant strains of diseases such as tuberculosis and gonorrhea. |
ANTIDEPRESSANTS, NOT TAKING
People who don't take antidepressants (in the form of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are more likely to have heart attacks. Before you reach for the Prozac, though, keep reading. |
ANTIDEPRESSANTS, TAKING
Antidepressants can give you photosensitivity reactions, including hives, rashes, or other skin eruptions. People have been known to become suicidal or violent after taking serotonin reuptake inhibitors. One study found a possible relationship between using tricyclic antidepressants and contracting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. And recently there have been claims that certain antidepressants are addictive. If you're taking enough antidepressants, though, all this may not bother you too much. |
ANTIHISTAMINES
If you're old and it's winter, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't: colds and flu can be deadly, but the antihistamines in cold and flu medications (as well as indigestion tablets and sleeping pills) can give you side effects such asconfusion, memory loss, disorientation, and blurred vision, which can lead to misdiagnosis and treatment for senility. |
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