Always Follow the Elephants: More Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths about Our Health and the World We Live in - Paperback

by Anahad O'Connor (Author)

From The New York Times's intrepid "Really?" reporter and author of the bestselling Never Shower in a Thunderstorm, more mind-opening health facts (and fictions)

In this follow-up to the bestselling Never Shower in a Thunderstorm, New York Times columnist Anahad O'Connor uncovers the truth behind a hundred more old wives' tales and conventional-wisdom cures. O'Connor investigates nagging questions of domestic safety, such as whether you can get radiation poisoning from standing too close to a microwave. (You'll actually be exposed to more watts from your cell phone.) He unearths astounding first-aid "MacGyverisms," such as the attempts by Vietnam War battlefield medics and professional sports stars to seal wounds with super glue. (The bottom line: it works, but can irritate skin.) And he looks into the claim that a pregnant mother with heartburn should expect a hairy newborn (and is as baffled as the scientists who tallied up the clearly evident infant hairdos).

For anyone curious about whether to starve a fever or a cold, or whether stifling a sneeze will damage the body, O'Connor delivers yet another winning and irresistible collection of tips about our health.

Author Biography

Anahad O'Connor is a reporter for The New York Times covering breaking national news and contributes the weekly column "Really?"--named for his favorite word in journalism--to the paper's Science Times section. The author of Never Shower in a Thunderstorm (ISBN: 978-0-8050-8312-5), he lives in New York City.