Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.

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Our Latest Posts About: Health

Who Still Buys Margarine?

Friday, July 14, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Butter vs Margarine? I'm sticking with butter.

When I see margarine in the supermarket, I scratch my head and wonder... who still buys margarine? To me, there's no comparison. Butter's been around for thousands of years and it has just one or two simple ingredients, cows milk and salt.

Margarine is mystery oil, turned into a thick goop by scientists using a heat and all sorts of ingredients, which often turn it into an unhealthful mess that still can't compare with the taste of butter. It was created in a lab as a "Healthful Alternative" to butter, but many of them, especially stick margarine still contain trans fats.

While there are newer blends that have fewer trans fats by mixing them with butter, pure margarine is still mystery goop to me.

There are people who d... [More]

Continue...Who Still Buys Margarine?...

Some Doctors and Nurses Set a BAD Example

Friday, June 23, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why do so many doctors and nurses smoke?

Understanding Essentially Unessential Essentials

Sunday, June 18, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Just because something says it's Essential, doesn't mean it is.

Have you noticed how many products claim to have "Essential" ingredients? Unfortunately, a lot those Essential Ingredients aren't actually... Essential. Let me explain.

When it comes to packaging, the term "Essential" has several meanings, depending on the product, but for the most part, we can break it down two ways. In the context of vitamins, an Essential Vitamin is a vitamin that your body needs to get directly from food and/or supplements, because it's not something it can "manufacture" on it's own.

For example, although Vitamin D3 is a vitamin that is essential to your health, it's not considered an "Essential Vitamin" because your body can actually manufacture it from other nutrients. In the case of... [More]

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Pre-Mixed Alka-Seltzer, In Bottles

Thursday, April 20, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Alka-Seltzer relief, without the Plop-Plop, Fizz-Fizz?

It's not easy mixing up a batch of Alka-Seltzer when you're on the go, because you may not have a cup, so why not sell ready-mixed Alka-Seltzer in bottles and cans? It's the perfect solution to a simple problem.

Natural Versions of Food?

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Natural versions... What's in the regular versions?

I get a kick out of companies that sell "Natural" versions of their products, while continuing to sell the original version. Why would they do that? If the newer version is natural, doesn't it draw your attention to their original "Un-Natural" version?

While I'm happy to see companies releasing "Natural" versions, it doesn't make sense that they continue to sell their original version.

Thankfully, some companies like General Mills have the integrity to not only introduce more healthful choices, but they had the courage to eliminate their original recipes entirely... and in their ENTIRE product line. General Mills not only switched every brand of cereal they make to whole grain, but even decided to eliminate artificial c... [More]

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Why Hospitals Should Be Fully Staffed 24/7

Thursday, July 21, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There shouldn't be any difference in the quality of hospital care on nights and weekends.

It's sad to think, but if you, or someone you love is ever hospitalized, you'd better hope it's on a Monday morning, instead of a Friday night because the level of care you'll see is literally... night and day.

A Healthful Choices Rewards Card

Thursday, July 7, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Whenever people track their health choices, they tend to make better decisions.

One of the best things about devices like Fitbit and the Apple Watch is that it motivates people to move around more often, if nothing else, because they now have a simple way to track their progress. Simply stated, when people track something, they tend to pay attention to the little decisions they make each day.

While devices like that are great for monitoring your activity, I think it would be great to have a way to track other health choices that people make, such as their grocery shopping.

With a Healthful Choices Rewards Card, you would earn points every time you made a healthful purchase. For example, you would earn more points for buying Apples than you would for buying Twinkies. Take... [More]

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Why We Need More Non-Ambiguous Terms For Left and Right

Sunday, March 13, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

If I told you there was something on the left side of your car... You might ask "My left or yours?".

Every now and then we read about people who've had operations done on the wrong side of their body. If you do a simple web search for "surgeon operated on wrong side", you'll get countless results because the doctor's often don't make it clear which side they're referring to.

For example:

CNN-Patients, beware of wrong-side surgeries

Quote:
According to a 2006 study looking at the frequency of surgical errors in the United States, each year there could be as many as 2,700 mistakes where a surgery is performed on the wrong body part or the wrong patient. That's about seven per day.

[u... [More]

Continue...Why We Need More Non-Ambiguous Terms For Left and Right...

Hospital Bed Hand Sanitizers

Saturday, February 6, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Patients need clean hands too!

One of the first things you'll notice when you walk into any hospital or nursing home is that there are hand sanitizers everywhere. They're spread out every 20 feet or so in every hallway. They're next to elevators, bathrooms, vending machines, cafeterias and inside just about every patient's room.

With all those hand sanitizers, you would think that everyone in the building has clean hands. Not quite.

While it may be true that every staff member and visitor has clean hands, odds are just about every patient in the building has dirty hands.

I've spent a lot of time in hospitals and nursing homes and I've never seen one that pays attention to the cleanliness of patient's hands. That's pretty bad.

I've seen patients reach under b... [More]

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Nutrition Labels... For The Entire Package

Tuesday, February 2, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

What good are nutrition labels when the serving sizes aren't realistic?

Studies have shown that as a rule of thumb, when given a larger portion of just about anything, people will eat more of it. In fact, in one study the participants were intentionally given horrible tasting popcorn in various sized packages to see if it had any effect on how much the participants ate. Even though the popcorn didn't taste good, people with larger packages ate proportionately more than those with smaller packages.

That being the case, I think food companies should make it a point to include nutritional information for the entire package alongside their suggested "serving size". This not only makes it more realistic for small packages that will likely be eaten in one sitting, but for making... [More]

Continue...Nutrition Labels... For The Entire Package...

Nutrition Labels With Explanations

Monday, February 1, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Many people don't understand the numbers on nutrition labels, so why not put an explanation next to each number?

Because of FDA regulations, food companies are required to put detailed nutrition labels on every package of food they produce. While there's been quite a few changes to the style of the labels, what remains the same is how confusing it is for some people to understand them.

While it's great that they've made sure the labels are large enough to see, with clearly labeled numbers and text, the fact is, quite a few people have no idea what they're reading. It's like giving out only half the score for a baseball game. Knowing the Yankees scored 4 runs in the game doesn't tell you if that's a good score, or a bad one.

For the same reason, when people read a package... [More]

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Bill Gates: Turn Poop Into Money, Water, and Energy

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Developing countries need money, better sanitation, water and energy. Bill Gates shows us how to fix them all with one easy solution.

When Bill Gates left Microsoft, he had one simple goal. He wanted to change the world. Judging by this video, he's of to a great start.

Since founding the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, The Foundation has tackled on a wide range of world problems. This video shows off one of the most interesting innovations, a system that basically turns poop into water and energy, through a device called the "Janicki Omniprocessor".

For developing countries, getting rid of waste, while generating money, clean water and energy is not just a slick idea, it solves several fundamental problems that are unique to developing countries that lack c... [More]

Continue...Bill Gates: Turn Poop Into Money, Water, and Energy...

No Artificial Food Colors

Friday, November 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why do so many foods still have artificial colors?

A couple of weeks ago, I did a Google search for "stool color", which led to an article from the Mayo Clinic about what to do if your stool has an odd color.. For the past few day my stool looked turquoise, and frankly, I was a bit worried. I didn't find any answers, but a few days later, I realized that I've been eating Boo Berry cereal, which has a blue color.

If you read the ingredients on a bottle of Gatorade, you'll find that it has water, sugars, salts, flavoring... and "coloring". Coloring? No kidding? You mean it's not really blue?

Athletes have trusted the science behind Gatorade for decades to keep them properly hydrated for peak pe... [More]

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Purell Dispensers in Churches

Friday, October 30, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Cleanliness should be next to Godliness.

The first thing you see when you enter a church is a vessel filled with Holy Water that people dip their hands in to bless themselves as they walk in or exit. This water is a symbolic reminder of a believer's baptism into the faith.

When you take a gathering of hundreds of people, including children of all ages, there's bound to be at least some people with dirty hands dipping into the water. For this reason alone, doesn't it make sense to put a Purell hand sanitizer dispenser somewhere nearby?

Even if most people don't use the sanitizer before dipping their hands, those who are concerned with picking up germs can use it right after they dip.

It's a win-win for everyone. You can shake hands with the person next to you wit... [More]

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No Carpets in Restaurants

Monday, October 19, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Carpets don't belong in restaurants.

The other day I went to a fast food restaurant that had carpets in the main dining area. To be honest, I didn't even notice it at first. I just sat down and started eating, until I started to notice an odd smell. I eventually realized the smell was coming from the carpet. It was not only smelling up the whole place, but it felt a bit sticky, like an old movie theater.

That's when I started to imagine how often food and drinks fall on the floor and soak into the carpet. Night after night, customers drop a little soda here and there, a few french fries, a pickle, maybe even a few dairy products. Then I picture the staff vacuuming the surface, and having it shampooed from time to time.

By contrast, restaurants with hard floors end ea

... [More]

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Leftover Drink Sink

Wednesday, September 9, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why don't fast food restaurants have someplace to pour out leftover drinks?

When I went to elementary school, there was an area in the cafeteria where students were expected to bring their garbage. What stood out was that they had a stainless steel bucket next to the garbage where we were expected to pour out our leftover milk so it wouldn't go into the regular garbage.

After I graduated and went to middle school, I was shocked to see they didn't have anywhere to pour out leftover drinks. The idea that we were to put containers of liquid into a garbage pail didn't make sense at all. Meanwhile, that's exactly what every fast food restaurant expects you to do.

Putting all those liquids into regular garbage bags is pretty stupid. It not makes the garbage heavier, and it

... [More]

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4 Reasons Why Paper Towels Should Be in All Public Restrooms

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

I don't care if dryers save energy in public bathrooms.

Whether you buy into all the hype about why dryers are better for the environment or not, the fact is many of us would rather use paper towels.

I don't want to hear about how paper towels kill trees. To me, that's nonsense, because every major paper towel manufacturer uses at least some recycled paper. Paper that is not from recycled sources is generally from paper mills that follow standards that plant multiple trees for every one they cut down. It's not only more responsible, but it's good business.

We can debate this and other reasons why dryers are "green", but there's still a lot of reasons why I hate them.

1. Some people, like me, like to wash their face too.

It's frustrating to wash your face in... [More]

Continue...4 Reasons Why Paper Towels Should Be in All Public Restrooms...

Covered Soda Cans. Why Put Dirty Cans In Your Mouth?

Wednesday, August 26, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Bottle have caps. Cans have... nothing?

If you've ever had the pleasure of drinking a can of San Pellegrino Aranciata or Limonata, you just saw today's Idea of the Day in action. Every can of San Pellegrino comes with a removable foil cover to insure the top of the can remains clean.

Unlike bottled drinks that are covered until you open them, soda cans are always exposed. It's hard to believe there isn't any regulation that mandates that soda cans remain covered until purchased.

Why is it that San Pellegrino is the only major beverage company that realizes that many of their customers will be drinking directly from the can?

When you buy a can of soda from a deli, the can that you are about to put in your mouth has potentially travelled hundreds of miles in a di... [More]

Continue...Covered Soda Cans. Why Put Dirty Cans In Your Mouth?...

The Best Demonstration of How Sunscreens Work

Sunday, March 8, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

If you have any doubt about the effectiveness of sunscreens, you MUST watch this video. It could save your life.

As somebody with olive skin, I have to admit, I rarely use sunscreen, mainly because I rarely get sunburn. However, after watching this video, I have to wonder about how my skin has held up over the years. Sunscreen does a lot more than protect your skin from sunburn. It protects you skin from aging too quickly and most of all, from skin cancer.

It's hard to imagine a better demonstration of exactly how sunscreen protects your skin from UV radiation. When we apply it, it seems invisible, so it's hard to visualize that it's actually doing anything.

To me, the most compelling part of the video is a demonstration of how a baby's skin starts off nearly perfect,... [More]

Continue...The Best Demonstration of How Sunscreens Work...

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

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