Take two and call me in the morning…
A well-known foe of fever, aches, and pains turns out to have a hitherto-hidden additional talent: according to a post by Kratomystic, scientists at the University of British Columbia say they’ve discovered that Tylenol reduces the anxiety associated with “thoughts of existential uncertainty and death.” Their research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that acetaminophen (of which Tynenol is the leading over-the-counter brand) may help to reduce the existential pain that thinking about death can cause us to feel– as they characterize it, ” a sort of existential angst that isn’t attributable to a specific source.”
Other recent studies suggest that acetaminophen can mitigate social anxiety, in particular, “the non-physical pain of being ostracized from friends.”
Never leave home without it.
[TotH to Gawker; photo via Daily News]
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As we keep calm and carry on, we might recall that it was on this date in 1995 that an explosion devastated the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The blast claimed 168 lives and injured more than 680 people, destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, an estimated $652 million in damage. Initially assumed to be the work of “Arab terrorists,” the bombing was conducted by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, with help from Michael Fortier and his wife Lori. The three men were Army buddies who’d become part of the militia movement; they acted out of anger over the FBI’s 1992 Ruby Ridge siege and their 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco (the attack was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the deadly fire that ended the stand-off at Waco).
