mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Daily Mail headlines and sub-headlines are always good for a chuckle. A few weeks back, this photo was accompanied by the following:
No, she’s NOT a beekeeper. This woman believes that her bizarre headgear can save her from the dangerous electrosmog all around us. Can she possibly be right?
Thing is, if you read the article, you quickly discover the condition is no laughing matter. Since diagnosing herself as “electrically sensitive” in May 2005, this poor woman has been stuck at home, unable to go out and function in the world.
Now, I have always noticed I feel a bit toxic after using a cellphone, but sticking in one of those earbuds seems to solve it for me. Anyone else have some electrically sensitive stories to share? Maybe there’s more to electrosmog than most of us think.
She’s a kook. I’m betting that you could sneak a bunch of EMI-producing gizmos into her house and she’d feel fine until you told her — then she’d dream up all kinds of symptoms.
Are all the asylums full in Britain? This lady needs help! Very sad….
posted by Sid on 5-7-2007 at 6:38 am
I think it’s crap, but I’m going to go fashion myself a tinfoil hat just to be safe.
posted by Rachel on 5-7-2007 at 6:53 am
Why yes, it is a laughing matter. There is absolutely NO scientifically valid evidence or basis for such a condition existing. She’s a nutter, and you folks are suckers for enabling the nutteriliciousness.
posted by Foog on 5-7-2007 at 10:04 am
This is not a laughing matter. I suffer from a similar condition myself. It’s known as A.S. Air Sensitivity. Every year I get sick in some way. 4 months ago it was chapped lips. Last year I got a cold, and 2 years ago was the worst….the flu. Just a minute ago I sneezed.
I do combat this by holding my breath most of the time. It seems to work. When I do need to breath I use a SCUBA tank filled with pure oxygen. I sometimes get laughed at in public…what with the flippers and all, but it’s worth it to avoid being sick due to this horrible air. Someone should really do something about it. It must be a government conspiracy.
posted by Drew on 5-7-2007 at 3:02 pm
Actually, I’ve had passing thoughts on whether the ever increasing amount of radio and elecric waves bouncing around everywhere might affect the human body, but I highly doubt wearing a NET over your head would solve any problems. That lady is just a little wierd.
posted by heather on 5-7-2007 at 10:24 pm
Well?… I have discovered that if I aim my lip ring at the north star I can pick up BBC shortwave radio on my teeth fillings.
posted by Radioman on 5-8-2007 at 2:57 am
Yeah, the woman’s probably a kook, but you never know for sure. We don’t know for sure that it’s not a serious problem, do we? I mean, right now, we might say that it’s ridiculous, but if you were to go back in time so many years and tell people that one day, people would fly through the air in gigantic metal birds, you’d be laughed out of town. It could be just one of those things, you know?
And Sid, it’s not as if she’s hurting anything, is she? Her bank acount, maybe, but aside from that…
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 5-8-2007 at 6:33 pm