The gravitational influence of the obstetrician is
much greater [on the baby]
than the gravitational influence of Mars.
– Carl Sagan, On the Pseudoscience of Astrology, 2008
The birth of my sixth grandchild on October 10, 2010 ( time of birth was 10:18 so he just missed a perfect “pentafecta”, 10:10-10/10/10) caused me to notice all the hoopla about 10/10/10 and to do a bit of web surfing among astrology and numerology sites. I was disappointed that I didn’t find anything too exciting or illuminating. One of the more popular sites (according to Google) noted that one of three things could happen on 10/10/10: 1) something really good, 2) nothing, or 3) something really bad, and that #2 was the most likely.
I did discover, believe it or not, a site devoted to Medical Astrology or “Iatromathematics” that, among other things, postulated that Carl Sagan’s death in 1996 was predicted by the alignment of the planets in 1994.
- Number of vitamins and minerals ruled by Mars and Venus respectively: 10 / 3
- Number ruled by the planet with the strongest aspects, the Moon: 2 , Vit. B2 and Potassium
- Planet that rules Vitamin D: Sun (Now, that one I can buy)
- Planet position that determined the date that swine flu appeared in Mexico: Pluto in retrograde
Number of E-cigarette distributors recently cited by the FDA for false health claims and for delivering liquid pharmaceuticals not yet approved in the U.S.: 5 (1)
Types of liquid drugs delivered by E-cigarettes: erectile dysfunction and weight loss
- I guess that is the kind of cigarette you should light up BEFORE having sex.
Whatever happened to the swine flu epidemic and that H1N1 vaccine we heard so much about? (2)
- Among 483,276 recipients of the vaccine in one study there were NO cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and NO deaths.
- Another study showed that receiving the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine increased the chance of getting GBS by 0.7/100,000 person-years which is tiny and IDENTICAL to the rate of the usual seasonal flu vaccine.
- Number of 10 patients with swine flu admitted to a Michigan ICU for ventilator support who were obese: 9 (3)
- Number of the same 10 who were extremely obese: 7
Per cent of people in the U.S. with antibody levels high enough to protect them from getting mumps: 90%
Per cent of immune people necessary to provide “herd immunity” (the protection of unimmunized people) : 92% (4)
Per cent increase in risk of seizures in 400,000 children within 3 days after a diptheria-tetanus immunization: ZERO (5)
References:
1. Pediatric News, Clinical Rounds, September 2010, p.42
2. Adriana Weinberg, MD, Report given at 2010 Pediatric Infectious Disease Conference, Pediatric News, September 2010, p.11
3. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr July 7, 2009
4. J Infect Dis 2010 Sept 1; 202:667
5. Pediatrics 2010 Aug; 126:263
HUB's LIST of medical fun facts 