One Type of Misinformation Is Commonly Overlooked as Benign. Here's Why It Isn't.

Sun, 1 Oct 2023 20:01:22 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.sciencealert.com/one-type-of-misinformation-is-commonly-overlooked-as-benign-heres-why-it-isnt>

"When the city of London faced the bubonic plague in 1665, many people
desperately sought a way to protect themselves and their loved ones from
getting sick.

One widely adopted method consisted of mixing two small cloves of garlic in a
pint of fresh milk. People believed that drinking this cocktail in the morning,
on an empty stomach, would prevent the feared disease.

Like those living through the great plague of London, many people searched for
remedies that would keep COVID at bay, which is why claims that garlic could
cure or protect people proliferated on social media. The claims prompted an
exasperated World Health Organization to post tweets of caution.

Unfortunately, despite laboratory studies showing that garlic does indeed have
compounds with anti-microbial properties, the idea of ingesting garlic to
prevent becoming infected with any bacteria or virus is mostly folklore.

Folk remedies may sound benign, but they can hurt people. A 72-year-old woman
ended up with a chemical burn on her tongue due to her daily use of raw garlic
in an attempt to protect herself against the coronavirus, for example."

Via Rixty Dixet.

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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