Believe it or not

Heart stress in a pickle

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BION_16From Lose Friends Radio comes this ‘Believe it or not’ segment Number 16, called ‘Heart stress in a pickle’. You can read the transcript below, or listen to the original broadcast by clicking on the green play button: [audio:Jonar_Nader_16_BION_Heart_stress_in_a_pickle.mp3]
Believe it or not, according to Jonar Nader, research at a University in North Carolina discovered one domestic chore to be actually more strenuous than sex ⎯ opening sealed jars.

One experiment studied 520 subjects over a five-year period. The group which was divided into the elderly, the young, and the super fit (with strong grips) opened over 80,000 jars in total.

The head of research, Sarah Stone, noted that over that period, even the super fit were finding it increasingly difficult to open jars. Stone contacted various manufacturers to enquire about the pressure used to seal common household jars. She found that manufacturers have been increasing the seal pressure in order to avoid tampering, contamination, and possible extortion attempts.

This increased pressure means that consumers are required to exert more effort to open each jar.

Stone collaborated with a colleague who, over the same period, was measuring stress levels experienced during sexual activity. They compared results and found that opening jars was 23% more stressful on the heart.

Stone’s report was read with interest by the Heart Foundation who is considering a public awareness campaign to alert people to the dangers of opening jars.

Stone is now lobbying manufacturers to consider building a pressure release mechanism into each lid thus enabling users to break the vacuum seal with the ‘press of a button’ or the ‘pull of a tab,’ reducing the stress levels associated with opening jars. As to sex – it will continue to exert the same amount of stress on our hearts.

Believe it… or not.

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