Ridiculous science (was Re: Small rant about cosmetics' ads)

[pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., naama_gat at h... wrote:
> Talking of (psudo) science in the service of cosmetics, I just have
> to tell this tale: I was at my cosmetician (is that a word?),

>From the 1974 OALDoCE, under main-entry cosmetic:  /[phonetic 
rendition of the word completely impossible to show here]/ n person 
employed in the preparation or sale of [cosmetic]s

So yes, cosmetician is a word.  

> and she was doing all kinds of mildly painful things to me. To take
> my mind off it, I started a conversation about the new laser hair
> removal machine I knew she had just installed.  I asked her whether
> it was approved by the Ministry of Health and things like that, and
> then I asked her vaguely  - "is it safe with all the radiation and
> stuff?", to which she (very seriously) replied - "it's not
> radiation - it's energy!"

<spoilsport-mode>
I am not certain I completely disagree with above-mentioned 
cosmetician - if it was a laser-machine, all it emits is light 
(unless it contains radioactive material, in which case the beaty-
parlour should really reconsider its acquisition-policy), and it is 
not common for most people to refer to light as radiation (even if it 
is).  
</spoilsport-mode>

> I've told that story about a hundred times, and it just seems
> funnier to me every time. 
> 
> 
> Naama

Best regards
Christian Stubø