Cynical Activities - D
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DOORBELLS
Jumping up to answer the doorbell can give you a stroke. |
DOUBT, RELIGIOUS
If you're sick, don't let yourself start having doubts about God: He might not appreciate it. A study has found that older patients who doubt their faith while sick die sooner than those whose faith remains strong. |
DRINKING
We all know that drinking can lead to embarrassing incidents involving putting someone's underwear on your head and serenading your girlfriend with a rendition of "Light My Fire," but that's only the tip of the iceberg. For young people, drinking can lead to violence (90 percent of all rapes on college campuses involve alcohol) or serious accidents (alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of death among fifteen- to twenty-four-year-olds). Children born to drinking mothers can suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, whose symptoms include low birthweight, distorted facial features, stunted growth, and mental retardation that may be irreversible. In a study of accidents in a wilderness area, alcohol played a significant role in one-half of all fatalities. Alcohol abusers are at particular risk of developing conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and hypertension. Even moderate drinking may make you more likely to suffer brain atrophy, which is associated with reduced neurological and cognitive function. |
DRINKING, NOT
Great Excuse of the Day: if you don't drink, you're more likely to get diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (if it's red wine that you're not drinking) than people who do. Not drinking may also make you more likely than moderate drinkers to suffer white matter infarcts, which are associated with reduced neurological and cognitive function. Cut out this entry and take it with you to the bar. You still don't get to keep the traffic cone, though. |
DRINKS, HOT
Drinking hot beverages increases your risk of esophageal cancer. If you think reaching for something iced gets you off the hook, though, you're wrong. |
DRY CLEANERS, WORKING IN
Do something nice for your dry cleaner: hand-wash. Long-term exposure to dry-cleaning fluids can cause liver and kidney damage, memory loss, confusion, pneumonia, diseases of the stomach, and ischemic heart disease, as well as cancer of the tongue, bladder, esophagus, intestine, lung, and cervix. |
DUCKLINGS
Yeah, we know they're small and cute and fluffy, but it's always the harmless-looking ones. Handling ducklings and chicks has produced outbreaks of salmonellosis that are especially dangerous for children. |
DUST
Dust consists partially of the waste from dust mites found in significant numbers in nearly half of U.S. homes, which can give you allergic reactions such as headaches, sinus troubles, and loss of energy. Yet another reason why BREATHING is bad for you. |
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