The weirdest things on Amazon

I’m a big fan of Amazon, I buy pretty much everything from there to be honest, but the other day I came across a battle tank being sold on there, so what are the funniest / weirdest things sold on Amazon? All of these would make particularly good secret santa gifts because they are all pretty much terrible (apart from Compo’s phone case which is ace).

A canvas of Paul Ross. 

Why would anyone select Paul Ross to be the focus of a cavnas? More to the point, who would buy this and put it up in their house? Very odd, the reviews are brilliant.

Jesus Mug

I find this quite a strange product, but I’ve put it on here more for the reviews which I think are brilliant, including lines such as “by the time I made it back to my desk from the water spigot, this mug had turned my water into wine!” It’s worth just checking out a few of these. Also, cast a glance at the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” section which includes Nun Bowling.

 Jimmy Savile Costume

Oh dear. The worst taste costume possible? I think so. It has only 5-star reviews which probably indicates that they are spoofs…actually, I find this one a little too far into bad taste territory.

Martin Clunes Canvas Wall Clock

Not only is this one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen, some C-list English celebrity’s face on a clock, but there is an entire series of them and they are signed by the proud artist! What on earth is going through the person’s mind when they make these? Why Clunes? Why a clock? What the flip is happening here?

There’s actually a whole series of these, different poses of Martin Clunes, different soap stars from the UK. I hate to think how many might have been made already. Worldwide shipping though, so…

 Compo from Last of the Summer Wine Phone Case

I actually love this and if I was the sort of person to have a phone sock thing then this is the one that I’d have. Protect your phone with Compo from last of the summer wine.

Jamie Theakston Post Cards

This is amazing isn’t it? Post cards of Theakston? I mean, when do you buy and send postcards…on holiday, right? So, why would you ever want and send post cards of JT? Amazing. 8 of them come in a set, so if you’re off to Jamie’s for a holiday then perhaps you should get them in advance – although he’ll probably have some in his gift shop.

 David Miliband toilet seat cover

Well – it’s out of stock which is a big shame because this is a lovely gift isn’t it? I mean, who wouldn’t want a toilet seat cover of the former British MP? Unfortunately I didn’t know about this until today so I couldn’t get one and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to smile whilst I use my toilet again.

www.iamnormal.me

The Man Who Can Do Anything

Once upon a time there lived a man who could do anything. He was sat on a rock when a small child approached him. "Can you do anything?" said the child, inquisitively. "Of course I can child" said the man, "for I am the man who can do anything". "Can you create a rock so heavy that you cannot lift it?" Asked the child. "Yes" said the man "didn't you hear? I am the man who can do anything".

The man created a rock that was so heavy that he couldn't lift it. Impressed with his own work, the man said "you see child, look at that rock. I cannot lift it, it is huge". The child then asked "Can you lift the rock?" "Yes" said the man, "obviously, I can lift the rock, I can do anything". The man then lifted the rock with ease. The boy looked confused, but the man stopped him, saying "don't be confused child, just blindly except it, push logic to one side, for logic cannot do anything. And if something doesn't seem right, just come up with a supernatural resolution to the problem and pretend that there is no problem after all, then you will see that you too can do anything."

And so, the child became a psychic. Performing the impossible and charging people by the hour to give them hope. After all, this is what the man who could do anything taught him. Ethics don't matter when you are the man who can do anything.

The end.

Should you take vitamin supplements?

As you run more often and cover longer distances, training can become harder and your speed is likely to stop increasing. At times like this, runners look for ways to speed up their recovery and increase their strength. There are a number of ways to do this, but an increasingly popular way is to look for supplements, so; do they work?

In the UK our medicines are regulated by The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), however, they do not cover food supplements, specifically stating that vitamins; “are generally subject to food safety and food labelling legislation rather than medicines control”. This means that food supplements are not subject to the same level of medical controls and trials as medicines so it’s particularly important that you look very carefully at this subject.

The majority of written advice given to runners falls into two categories:

1. Take vitamins that contain anti-oxidants to reduce free-radical build up.
2. Take supplements to help the joints.

Taking Anti-Oxidant vitamins

The sell normally goes like this: When you run, something called ‘Free-radicals’ build up in your muscles and this damages them. You need to introduce Anti-Oxidants in vitamins (the most popular aimed at runners are Vitamins C and E) which will break down the Free-radicals and aid your muscle recovery.

Are they safe?

As we already know, these are not subject to medical trials in the UK and so we need to do a little research ourselves. These supplements are big business and big business tends to be very good at concealing anything negative about the products which make them a lot of money. The best way to check vitamin safety currently appears to be this Cochrane Summery. This was a trial on almost 300,000 participants which looked at the deaths of those taking vitamins against those not doing so, or taking a placebo. They discovered that, far from helping people live longer lives, the vitamins appeared to increase the chances of death very slightly. The vitamins that seemed to be linked to increased chances of death were beta-carotene and possibly vitamin E and vitamin A.

Do they work?

Okay, so there’s no evidence that they help people on an everyday basis, but is there any evidence that they help runners to improve performance (if we ignore the chance that they may slightly increase our risk of dying).

There is some evidence to suggest that increased Anti-Oxidant levels in the body may improve recovery times. This study, concludes that: “The human studies reviewed indicate that antioxidant vitamin supplementation can be recommended to individuals performing regular heavy exercise.” However, your body will adapt over time to deal with increased Free-radicals from exercise. The same study points this out: “training results in increased activity of several major antioxidant enzymes and overall antioxidant status”.

A fascinating study performed in Taiwan looked at the psychological impact of taking vitamins. They discovered that people who were told that they were taking a healthy multi-vitamin pill (which was really a placebo) created an illusion of invulnerability. They smoked more and believed themselves to be healthier than the control group who were told that their pill was a placebo. This suggests that there’s a danger that taking a ‘health giving’ pill may reduce your efforts to train hard and eat properly and that’s what’s really important. Here’s the study in full.

So really, it’s down to you. Personally I do take vitamin C and I believe it helps my running, whether that’s because it’s doing something physiological, or simply that I’m experiencing an illusion of invulnerability, I don’t know. Perhaps in runners that illusion is a good thing, it could help them break down perceived barriers about speeds and times. I would be interested to see a study on that.

Take supplements to help the joints

I’ve included this here because it seems that there has been a growing industry built up around joint supplements recently, Holland and Barratt even have a whole section dedicated to it on their website. The most popular product aimed at runners tends to be a combined Glucosamine and Chondroitin pill so I’m going to focus on that.

Are they safe?

In a word: Yes. Both Glucosamine and Chondroitin occur naturally in the body and studies have shown that taking supplements does not cause the body to stop producing them and no other damage has been shown.

 Do they work?

The labels to many of these products, as well as the websites that they are stocked on imply that these products enhance the way that your body maintains joints. This therefore leads to healthier joints and less injuries for runners.

Most studies have found that there is no benefit of taking Glucosamine and Chondroitin at all. To my knowledge there has only been one study which showed benefits – this was a study on osteoarthritis sufferers which was funded by a Pharmaceutical company. The fact that the only study to find benefit from the supplement was funded by a company with a vested interest in doing so makes me question the benefits.

Considering that these are quite expensive, my advice is to stay away as they are very unlikely to help your running, despite what people who are selling them may tell you. If you do take them then there is no danger and they appear to give roughly the same benefit as a placebo (although reading this may have ruined that for you!).