Josh Bloom – My Favorite Things in 2023

My favorites of 2023, poor taste included.

2023 has been quite a year. Beginning with “Scoring some Ambien from the Online Pharmacy from Hell” to “More Opioid Idiocy,” 100 articles on a range of topics. This year, I introduced the vastly underappreciated (and rightfully so) J-Man Chronicles, consisting of silly, tasteless, and, most importantly – intellectually worthless – bizarre “short stories. Chemistry Lessons from Hell continued, much to the delight of thousands, hundreds, dozens a couple of fans of these mostly incomprehensible reminders of days gone by (and best forgotten). Here are my favorites.

For 15 years, people have spent vast sums of money on a useless and potentially dangerous drug – all in a misguided effort by the DEA to control illegal meth production. You needn’t be Walter White of Breaking Bad to understand the chemistry. More importantly, why was the FDA allowing pseudoephrine, a helpful decongestant, to be replaced by phenylephrine, a placebo at best?

Sudafed PE Is Worthless (Just Like The Drug Policies That Put It On The Shelf)

 

I cannot come up with any explanation for why that nauseating commercial is still on TV other than our corrupt and absurd dietary supplement laws. Nothing in Prevagen can help anyone except for the company, which brags that its ingredients come from jellyfish (and we all know what great scholars they are) that makes it.

Why is That Hideous Prevagen Commercial Allowed on TV?
 

Sometimes life is not funny. During those times, ACSH is increasingly becoming an important source of reliable information to others in the mainstream media. The Wall Street Journal came to us for some reliable information on the chemical mess created by the East Palestine derailment.

Putting the East Palestine Train Accident in Perspective
 

And sometimes, a scientific “breakthrough” calls your name. I thought this was the best of titles and my, at times, adolescent humor.

The J-Man Chronicles: How The Vibrating Poop Pill Threatens Democracy