Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Two conspiracy theories about cola

dynomight.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 146 posts

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#31

Post by ncmncm »

Blikkentrekker wrote: post #28

Neither of which involve an alleged conspiracy. I must say that I find the word “conspiracy theory” to have rather odd usage in common parlance that does not seem to have much to do with conspiracies but I'm not sure what the actual definition is either. If anything, perhaps it's actual semantics are little more than “allegations of wrongdoing the speaker considers to be false”.

A conspiracy requires a crime. Poisoning millions of people should maybe be a crime, but it manifestly is not today, as numerous soda company executives move about freely, just as paint executives did and tobacco executives still do.

Killing a dozen people by shooting up a bus station is national news. Killing millions, year in and year out, slowly enough, is just business.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#32

Post by lotsofpulp »

varjag wrote: post #18
MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #14

You can use Coca Cola for jail breaks: see this article about a recent jail break in Israel, where the inmates used cola to get through eight inches of concrete floors. So much for the acids that they put into this 'soft drink'... https://www.timesofisrael.com/captured-fugitives-from-gilboa... https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3222116/palestinian-...

A number of natural juices (e.g. grapefruit) are more acidic than Coca Cola, so that's not telling much.

There needs to be much greater emphasis on teaching physics and chemistry in middle school and high school.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#33

Post by aaaaaaaaaaab »

csydas wrote: post #4

Kind of tangential to the article but regarding phosphoric acid and its use as anti-nausea, is this why bubbly white sodas are a household cure for upset stomachs? This was a go-to for my family in the US as a kid when I had a stomach flu (saltines and 7-up), and i guess it was pretty common

7-up doesn’t contain phosphoric acid.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#34

Post by giantg2 »

daveguy wrote: post #17
giantg2 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? One could say that about any duration, right?

Yes. You would have to have a placebo controlled test to confirm placebo vs "just happens to last 8 hours". This is what placebo controls are for.

I generally agree. The secondary (and more interesting) question is whether placebo effect is applicable to infants. Based on the theory of how placebo works, it seems it might not be. It seems there are no studies on that. At least I couldn't find any.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#35

Post by arrosenberg »

smnrchrds wrote: post #27
MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #14

You can use Coca Cola for jail breaks: see this article about a recent jail break in Israel, where the inmates used cola to get through eight inches of concrete floors. So much for the acids that they put into this 'soft drink'... https://www.timesofisrael.com/captured-fugitives-from-gilboa... https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3222116/palestinian-...

Acids are certainly bad for teeth, but is it bad for anything else? I imagine stomach acid is more powerful than any soft drink and the drink ends up there a second after being swallowed. Is there any risk of downstream harm from food acids?

Your stomach pH is consistently monitored and buffered by the feedback mechanisms in your body. Depending on your sensitivities, infusing a large amount of acidity all at once can absolutely cause stomach issues.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#36

Post by djbusby »

csydas wrote: post #4

Kind of tangential to the article but regarding phosphoric acid and its use as anti-nausea, is this why bubbly white sodas are a household cure for upset stomachs? This was a go-to for my family in the US as a kid when I had a stomach flu (saltines and 7-up), and i guess it was pretty common

Saltines for substance, 7-up for sugar and bubbles. Easy filler, energy and helps you burp out the bad feels.

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#37

Post by FridayoLeary »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #14

You can use Coca Cola for jail breaks: see this article about a recent jail break in Israel, where the inmates used cola to get through eight inches of concrete floors. So much for the acids that they put into this 'soft drink'... https://www.timesofisrael.com/captured-fugitives-from-gilboa... https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3222116/palestinian-...

From what i understand they may as well have used power tools to break through. This prison break highlighted the almost unbelievable incompetency of the Israeli Prison service. I wouldn't be shocked if this coke story is just a lie to divert attention from the ineptitude of the prison guards. After all, who would expect coke would be used in a breakout attempt?

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#38

Post by djbusby »

smnrchrds wrote: post #27
MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #14

You can use Coca Cola for jail breaks: see this article about a recent jail break in Israel, where the inmates used cola to get through eight inches of concrete floors. So much for the acids that they put into this 'soft drink'... https://www.timesofisrael.com/captured-fugitives-from-gilboa... https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3222116/palestinian-...

Acids are certainly bad for teeth, but is it bad for anything else? I imagine stomach acid is more powerful than any soft drink and the drink ends up there a second after being swallowed. Is there any risk of downstream harm from food acids?

Heartburn and Acid-Reflux

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#39

Post by latchkey »

ncmncm wrote: post #15

There is nothing harmless about liquid fructose, or liquid sugar (which is half fructose). The people who know the most about fructose blame it for the huge public health crisis that the US (and UK, Pakistan, India, and some other countries) are suffering, manifested as insulin resistance and type #2 diabetes, "metabolic syndrome". It kills way more than COVID. Specifically: fructose is mostly processed only by the l…

I stopped reading after the covid mention.

[1] https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Faulty-...

Re: Two conspiracy theories about cola

#40

Post by dghughes »

pirate787 wrote: post #29

For context on the Mexican cola, US cola had sugar as well until the mid 1980s. The US sugar program restricts imports and keeps the domestic price for sugar high, which created a new market for milling corn into HFCS. HFCS is uniquely an American invention that's the result of massive government subsidies for corn and price support for sugar. If the government did not intervene in American sugar markets, cola would…

Canada has no such requirements but even so we still get stuck with pop sweetened with HFCS.
Post reply on HN