Questions tagged [consumer-products]
Use this tag for questions about the effectiveness of products which are sold to end consumers. Typically this is used for claims about products when there is no more specific tag available, such as [medicaments] or [natural-remedies].
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Do nano silver bead laundry mashers effectively clean laundry?
I just received some “Laundry Mashers” as a gift. They are plastic devices that purportedly contain "nano silver infused ceramic beads" and are intended to replace the use of detergent in a ...
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Does the Dyson hairdryer measure temperature more than 40 times per second?
According to its product page https://www.dyson.co.uk/hair-care/dyson-supersonic/dyson-supersonic-overview the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer has the following feature
Unlike some others, the Dyson ...
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In the US, were clover lawns common until a supposed smear campaign by Roundup?
Then in the 1950s a chemical company, to advance a weed killer, used a public relations campaign to declare white clover a weed.
http://americangardening.net/public-relations-campaign-attacks-clover ....
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Are sardines farmed?
I've been trying to find out if sardines are farmed or if they are all wild and are only fished.
Most of the sources I find, like this page, say that they cannot be farmed:
They are not farmed, as ...
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Did Coinstar add a delay and fake noises because people didn't believe a machine could count coins quickly?
I saw a post on Reddit claiming that Coinstar machines are extremely fast at counting coins, but that the company had to introduce a delay and fake noises to the machines because customers didn't ...
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Does using yellow paper hide the yellow tracking dots that commercial printers put on anything you print? [closed]
I just learned about those yellow dots printers put on paper that the government uses to track you in case it doesn't like what you're printing. Does anyone know if using yellow paper like this in ...
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Is Pepsin from pigs being used for cheesemaking in the United States?
A comment on this blog reads as follows:
Your information is INCORRECT. Following is an excerpt from a letter
from KRAFT food.
"Thank you very much for asking if Kraft cheese products ...
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Does the Black Rhodium Stream/Titan Power Cable provide improved sound quality to hi-fi systems?
Claims made for the Black Rhodium TITAN/Stream Power Cable (£795) are shown below.
Is it true that this cable improves the sound quality of hi-fi systems?
Black Rhodium Stream Power Cable
A POWER ...
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1
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Do many commonly consumed food items in Australia have the halal certification emblem on them?
I found this quote in a viral email:
"In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the world, many of
the most commonly consumed food items have the halal emblem on them.
Just look at the ...
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Is the majority of milk in industrialized countries obtained from pregnant cows?
There is conflicting information out there.
On the one hand we often find simple claims like
The majority of milk in industrialized countries is obtained from pregnant cows, which contains increased ...
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Do Humidifiers Increase Risk of Respiratory Infections?
According to this report
"Humidification should preferably use evaporative or steam
humidifiers, as cool mist humidifiers can disseminate aerosols
contaminated with allergens"
Similarly, a NY ...
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Do certain fruit combinations ripen faster?
It is commonly claimed that certain fruits (e.g. apples, bananas, high-ethylene fruits and their dastardly "ripening hormone") make other fruits ripen faster. These claims appear on mainstream media ...
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Can my coffee maker brew stronger coffee? [closed]
The product description for the Hamilton Beach Coffee maker notes that I can:
Choose Your Brew Strength
Get your preferred brew flavor with two
brewing strengths – choose from bold or ...
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Could a tattoo encode a wave form to reproduce significant sound sample? [closed]
I just ran into https://skinmotion.com/ which sells "Soundwave Tattoos".
My gut says tattoos cannot have high enough resolution to actually encode 15s of audio - even at speech quality.
Reading all ...
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Was it only Johnson & Johnson which hid the link between its Talcum powder and Cancer risk? [closed]
Recently a woman successfully sued Johnson & Johnson for not giving enough warnings about the Cancer causing risks of its baby powder. But why only Johnson & Johnson? Do other Talcum powder ...
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Do handwashs kill 99.9% of bacteria?
My handwash liquid states that it kills 99.9% of bacteria. This usually comes with a disclaimer at the back: "based on laboratory tests".
First of all, if I make a handwash, I would certainly like it ...
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Are cheap scallops made from flounders or stingrays?
Jaws the book (1974) claimed that if you use a cookie cutter to punch holes from flounder wings, you can create fake scallops and that these are commonly sold in restaurants:
'I was just looking at ...
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Does vegetarianism save animals? [duplicate]
A common belief about vegetarians is that they reduce the number of animals that die or at least reduce the demand for meat. But I also heard that less demand for meat will reduce meat prices and ...
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Are artificial sweeteners linked to strokes and dementia?
The Guardian is claiming a new study "links" drinking a can of artificially sweetened to dementia and stroke, then putting a disclaimer that the study does not show a "causal" connection.
While ...
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Are the chemical compounds BPA, BPS and BPF harmful to humans?
According to the following article by Time, and the study that it cites, several compounds of the chemical bisphenol - used in commonly-handled products like shopping receipts and plastic containers ...
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Does using a neck brace reduce damage taken in a car crash?
In the movie Focus, you can find this scene, where a man puts on a neck brace, before crashing into another car, and this same guy seems to be the only one unscathed. I know movies tend to portray ...
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Do sports compression clothes give their claimed benefits?
Sellers of sports compression clothes make a lot of claims about their products.
Here are some I saw on the back of a 2XU packet. This is not exclusive to them:
Benefits of compression
...
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Is Casey Neistat's video of himself flying under a drone genuine?
In this video a vlogger shows off themselves flying, doing jumps and snowboarding uphill by being attached to a large drone.
Was he effectively being dragged and lifted by the drone?
user37434
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Are people more careless with their mobile phones when an upgrade is due?
Gizmodo reports from an article in the Journal of Marketing Research that
People Trash Their Phones When an Upgrade is Close
The report describes the study further, noting that thee effect is ...
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Do vinegar or salt prevent the cloth colors from bleeding?
Here are the claims:
Vinegar helps “set” colors and prevents build-up of detergent residue, which contributes to color fading. [...] Pour ½ cup of salt in the wash cycle to prevent the dyes in ...
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Does sharing earphones increase the risk of middle ear infections?
A Google search reveals many claims that sharing earphones is unhealthy.
Marie Claire magazine provides an example:
Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental health at the ...
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Do Duracell batteries last longer than normal batteries?
The claim is
Up to 10 times longer lasting power
(*) vs. ordinary zinc carbon batteries in high powered toys and flash cameras
(picture from Amazon)
Do Duracell batteries last longer than Zinc ...
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Is there an EU regulation which says flags must be from non-flamable material?
There is currently a viral video spreading around on social networks of an (alleged) anti-eu protester trying to burn an EU flag but has difficulty setting it on fire because, as the post claims,
...
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Was a working prototype of the Warburtons toastie knife ever produced?
The Life Hack Stack Exchange has an answer talking about a prototype "toastie knife" from Warbutons Bakery.
It was claimed that the prototype knife would heat up to allow butter to be spread more ...
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Do aluminum-based antiperspirants cause cancer?
Some people claim that the aluminium in antiperspirants can cause cancer.
For example, Mercola.com:
Putting on antiperspirant is a routine part of most people's day, and you may not think much ...
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Did the ancient Egyptians call aloe vera "the plant of immortality"?
I came across the following on facebook (it linked to this article):
I was wondering whether that is actually true. Did the ancient Egyptians call aloe vera (and possibly other related species) the "...
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Does the IntelliGender gender prediction test have 78% accuracy?
In 2009, CNN described Intelligender, an over-the-counter test that predicts the gender of an unborn baby based on hormones in the mother's urine.
It claims that within 10 minutes of taking the ...
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Does the 3M mouse pad extend battery life up to 50% or 75%?
The 3M company has a product called 3M™ Precise™ Mouse Pad with Repositionable Adhesive Backing and Battery Saving Design, MP200PS that claims to:
Battery saving design extends battery life of ...
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Do large companies pay for shills? [closed]
On many forums and sites facilitating discussion, whenever the topic of consumerism is raised (eg. Android over iOS), there is a common accusation that one of the parties is a shill - someone paid to ...
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Do fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets taste worse than those grown on local farms?
It is a common belief that the produce sold at American supermarkets is "bland" and "tasteless". For example, the article "EVER WONDER WHY MODERN PRODUCE IS SO TASTELESS?"...
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Does placing metal inside the microwave damage the microwave?
It's practically common knowledge that microwaving metal objects can damage the microwave. I've heard this multiple times, mostly from my mom, and I've always believed it to be true. But is it? Would ...
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Do LED light bulbs last as long as claimed by the manufacturers?
Manufacturers routinely claim that their LED light bulb can last from 20,000 hours to 50,000 hours:
Anecdotes, such as this one suggest otherwise. Daily mail wrote:
More than a quarter did not ...
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Can a "special resistor" save a water heater tank from rust?
The Rheem water heaters say
The Rheem Performance Platinum 50 Gal. Electric medium water heater provides an ample supply of hot water for households with 3 to 5 people. This unit comes with two ...
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Does "reverse sound technology" make headphones safer?
Purebuds Earphones claims that their use of "Reverse Sound Technology" makes their earbuds safer, preventing hearing damage. I searched for a scientific study of this technology, or at least a good ...
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Does the E-Kaia device harvest electrical power from small plants?
The E-Kaia device claims to be able to harvest electricity released into soil by small plants. Here's a Daily Mail article describing it.
And because not all of the electrons are needed, harvesting ...
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Is Triclosan safe for use in toothpaste?
Colgate Total includes 0.3% Triclosan. The company says that the FDA, ADA, and others have confirmed that this is safe. Other sources claim that it is not safe, citing risks of cancer, endocrine ...
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Is the "Dr. Visser Seal of Approval" an accurate quality mark for good children's shoes?
The Dutch store Scapino sells a line of shoes that have received the "Dr. Visser Seal of Approval". The claim on their website† states (translated from the original Dutch):
Scapino has used ...
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Do different locks ever have the same key?
There is a specific pattern for each lock and key made in the world. A specific key can only open a specific lock which has the same pattern in which the key can fit.
This thread here suggests that ...
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Are mass-bred chicken fed with hormones or other substances that, when you eat their meat, can have significant negative effect on your health? [closed]
My friend told me that chicken meat is unhealthy - presumably chicken are fed with hormones which can be unhealthy, as well as the meat could contain some added chemicals. My question applies to ...
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Does Coca Cola taste different in glass bottles?
It is a common belief that the Coca Cola drink tastes different in glass bottles:
Why does Coke from a glass bottle taste different?
Why does Coke taste better in a bottle?
Why does glass-bottled ...
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2
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Does 32 g of Gatorade powder contain 33 g of carbohydrates?
A screenshot of the nutrition facts of a can of Gatorade powder was posted on my Facebook feed:
The label reads "Per 32 g (about 3 tbsp)", but if you read through the ingredients, the amount of ...
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Are there any laws preventing the copying of keys containing a DO NOT DUPLICATE stamp?
While I worked at Walmart during college in the states, we would copy keys for customers, unless the key looked like this.
We were told that it was illegal to copy such keys, however, customers would ...
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Does leaving the fan on during an RV a/c cycle time save energy? [duplicate]
When running an RV a/c during the summer, is it more energy-efficient to let the fan run while the compressor is cycling? Does it cause more wear and tear? Does it even matter if you allow the fan to ...
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Is human hair used to make bread?
While browsing Facebook I came across a post on eDidYouKnow,
Is this something that actually happens on a regular basis or is it just one of possible ways to create L-cysteine?
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Do watches break very often for some people?
I know of someone who cannot seem to wear watches without them breaking much quicker than expected.
This person was told it is because their body is producing too much electricity and that by ...
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