There’s a move afoot by consumer groups to get the Fed’s to remove a bunch of food colorings because they could be linked to behavioral problems—especially in kids.

It’s not the first time the government has banned a food color. Back in 1976—the FDA banned Red Dye #2 because there was concern that it might cause cancer…

Just about everything we eat has food dyes in it… Sometimes manufactures use the dye to make the food “taste” better.

You see, research shows humans associate certain colors with certain flavors, and adding the right color can influence the perceived flavor of that food.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) wants 8 artificial colors banned believing they are linked to behavior and attention deficit problems—-especially in children.

However–the Food And Drug administration says on its website that controlled studies since the 70’s show no indication that the dyes affect behavior.

You can read both sides of the issue here including how food makers have actually changed the food dyes in stuff they sell overseas because of the growing concern about the issue.

Bad behavior isn’t limited to kids. Take a look at this surveillance video from an office somewhere in Russia—where an office worker goes berserk for an unknown reason.

Maybe it was something he ate that had artificial dye in it.

And in case you think it was an act—here, in color—and with sound—is a second angle apparently taken from an employee with a cell-phone camera.

You’ll notice in this version—you can hear the buzz of a Taser which is used to subdue the crazed worker after he is zapped repeatedly by security.

By the way— if you think you’re doing better by only using “natural” food colorings in your organic food—-keep this in mind.

An extremely common “natural” red dye known as Carmine Red or Extract of Cochineal is made from — a beetle.

The beetle  produces Carminic Acid which is used to ward off predators. The acid is red in color and is obtained by grinding the bodies of female cochineal beetles.

Although it’s “natural” — it can still cause allergic reactions in some people who are affected by certain proteins in the bug’s body…

MMMMM… Yummy !

Maybe we ought to take our chances with ole’ Red Dye #2 again!

—Steve

Link to the video and the story Steve covered today on NBC-17

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There are a lot of tough ways to make a living—and working in any sort of job that requires you to perform in public is one of them..

Broadcasters, athletes, and stage actors are just some of the folks whose mistakes are exposed to millions—because they do their work “live”….

But perhaps the toughest of those jobs belongs to team mascots.

Not only to they have to perform in public—but they do it in cumbersome, stiflingly hot, and over-sized costumes… And their hijinks’s many times are thwarted because of those factors…

GETTING AHEAD ISN’T EASY….

Mr. Red-Legs is the mascot of the Cincinnati Reds..

But, the other day at the game—he became Mr. Red-FACE after an unfortunate incident that left him looking like thing that pursued Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow.……

FLAMING LOOP HOLE….

Sometimes the Mascots job involves some fancy or complicated gymnastics moves…

This little trick engaged in by SuperHugo, the mascot of the New Orleans Hornets involved jumping through a loop of fire.

The jump went OK—but the aftermath did not.

The resulting attempts to quell the flames left the basketball court a mess—caused several player mishaps—and delayed the game.

MAS-CAUGHT ON TAPE…

This final clip features a lot of different mascot mishaps—all of them captured on video…

And Although many of those accidents were tremendously embarrassing—there’s one advantage.

Because you’re wearing a giant head—no one will ever see your face—which cuts WAY DOWN on the humiliation factor…

—Steve

Link to the video and story Steve covered today on NBC-17

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They’re at it again…They aren’t the gang that couldn’t shoot straight—but they’re pretty dumb crooks none the less…

CURSES, TIN FOILED AGAIN….

The first job of any crook is to leave nothing behind that the police can use as clues…

And you especially don’t want to give the cops a TRAIL that’ll lead them to you….

But a group of crooks in Cincinnati apparently haven’t mastered that skill yet..

They robbed a downtown candy store of about $500 dollars worth of stuff.

They got caught because police just followed the trail of discarded candy and foil wrappers right up to the place where they were hiding.

DELIVERING A MESSAGE TO DRUNK DRIVERS……

It’s not a good idea to drink and drive… And it’s a worse idea to drink, drive, and show up at the police station.

But, that’s what a 42-year-old Oregon woman did.

She was supposed to clean up the state police barracks in Newport, Oregon..

But, when she showed up with a buzz—the cops promptly gave her a breath test.

When she blew two times the legal limit—she blew away her freedom and ended up spending her night in a jail cell instead of cleaning it.

DON’T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR PLATE….

A pair of would-be thieves in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley just couldn’t catch a break.

After they robbed a ritzy jewelry establishment, the store’s owner ran after them—jumping on the hood of their car and smashing their windshield in a rage…

Then the store’s security guard got in the act—and started smashing all the other windows in their getaway vehicle…

That prompted the pair to head for the foothills…

…leaving their wrecked car behind…

And attached to that wrecked automobile—their license plate, which police used to figure out where the alibi-challenged pair lived.

DON’T BANK ON ESCAPING….

And finally—this classic from a few years ago in England where a bank robber makes several key mistakes.

The first mistake being: deciding to commit his crime.

—Steve

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What is the deal with U.S soldiers videotaping stupid acts involving themselves—and then posting them on the Internet?

First there was the puppy tossing Marine….

Now we’ve got a soldier throwing a kid off a bridge into the water…

It was back on March 2nd we posted a video of a group of soldiers who videotaped a puppy being tossed a cliff… Back then, we railed about how it created a negative image for all U.S. military….

That video went world wide—resulting in an investigation that’s still on-going…

After we posted that video—someone called our attention to this clip of a young Iraqi boy being tossed off a bridge by a U.S. solider…

In a war where we have to win not only combat battles—but the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi’s what do you think would be the reaction to that incident?

Do you think the young man, his friends, and family in the village where he lives in will look favorably on Americans after what occurred?

And what about the rest of the world who watches that video?

Then—there’s this bit of stupidity posted by a soldier after a military member offers a hand grenade to a kid instead of candy.

Actions like this—and the posting of them on the Internet—certainly re-enforce the myth that all American’s are brutes—and that the United States military is filled with animals…

Thousands of our soldiers have paid the ultimate price fighting for this country in the war on terror—and the reprehensible actions of a few—when given world wide audience—diminish that sacrifice.

There’s too much at stake to let a few idiots decide how the world views us.

—Steve