Count me among those who believe blowing out birthday candles has cost more missed days of work and more absences from school than pretty much any other cultural tradition (Super Bowl Sunday maybe would be in 2nd place).
the worry mentioned seemed more related to lighting them and leaving them lit and burning for an extended period than the quick blowing out of the birthday candles. Would be interested to see any scientific studies or evidence you have on this.
"In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to particular microorganisms (such as the gut flora and helminth parasites) protects against allergies by properly tuning the immune system. In particular, a lack of such exposure is thought to lead to poor immune tolerance. The time period for exposure begins before birth and ends at school age."
The information blackout on the benefits of getting infections while young continued even though it soon became clear that the only young people who died of Covid were a small number with inherited immune deficiencies (e.g., https://omim.org/entry/301051), immunosuppression due to cancer treatment, or pregnancy. A sensible strategy during Covid would have been for young people to go off to summer camps and get infected with Covid so as to come back with immunity and not infect grandparents or pregnant mothers. In the early months of the pandemic one was not allowed to publish such a suggestion; the most I was able to get in print was https://www.wsj.com/articles/expose-first-responders-to-the-coronavirus-11585067397.
That's funny. I also was thinking of Podhoretz. My wife and I often light a candle at dinner, sit down to eat and say, "Should we listen to the Jews tonight." Always a good discussion, except that "JPod" often goes on and on too long.
Here is a subtle thing you can learn from reading Ira Stoll's careful phrasing: when you write an op-ed column, you don't get to write the headline. Stoll conveys this by writing "“Day One Agenda: A Pardon” is the headline over an article I wrote in today’s Wall Street Journal...".
I'm not persuaded by the warning about carbon dioxide from candles, but if someone in your household has asthma candles can be a problem. As I detailed at https://segal.org/asthma/
"Candles can be a problem due to all 3 factors, smoke, perfume in the candles, and nitrogen dioxide. If you need to use candles (e.g. religious ceremonies), you can reduce the smoke problem using "hurricane glass" enclosures, a decorative accessory that protects the candles from drafts and ensures a constant up-flow of air around the candle, and using proper ventilation while the candles are still burning."
Count me among those who believe blowing out birthday candles has cost more missed days of work and more absences from school than pretty much any other cultural tradition (Super Bowl Sunday maybe would be in 2nd place).
the worry mentioned seemed more related to lighting them and leaving them lit and burning for an extended period than the quick blowing out of the birthday candles. Would be interested to see any scientific studies or evidence you have on this.
I see it as not dissimilar from spitting in someone's food. Mix of research on the subject other than during Covid. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/07/birthday-candle-bacteria/534987/
Isn't it strange that one of the popular theories before Covid, the hygiene hypothesis, was seldom heard afterwards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis
"In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to particular microorganisms (such as the gut flora and helminth parasites) protects against allergies by properly tuning the immune system. In particular, a lack of such exposure is thought to lead to poor immune tolerance. The time period for exposure begins before birth and ends at school age."
The information blackout on the benefits of getting infections while young continued even though it soon became clear that the only young people who died of Covid were a small number with inherited immune deficiencies (e.g., https://omim.org/entry/301051), immunosuppression due to cancer treatment, or pregnancy. A sensible strategy during Covid would have been for young people to go off to summer camps and get infected with Covid so as to come back with immunity and not infect grandparents or pregnant mothers. In the early months of the pandemic one was not allowed to publish such a suggestion; the most I was able to get in print was https://www.wsj.com/articles/expose-first-responders-to-the-coronavirus-11585067397.
Love the photo with that article. Also, add in the subtitle: "But it's okay, really!"
As John Podhoretz says every day, “keep the candle burning.”
That's funny. I also was thinking of Podhoretz. My wife and I often light a candle at dinner, sit down to eat and say, "Should we listen to the Jews tonight." Always a good discussion, except that "JPod" often goes on and on too long.
Here is a subtle thing you can learn from reading Ira Stoll's careful phrasing: when you write an op-ed column, you don't get to write the headline. Stoll conveys this by writing "“Day One Agenda: A Pardon” is the headline over an article I wrote in today’s Wall Street Journal...".
I'm not persuaded by the warning about carbon dioxide from candles, but if someone in your household has asthma candles can be a problem. As I detailed at https://segal.org/asthma/
"Candles can be a problem due to all 3 factors, smoke, perfume in the candles, and nitrogen dioxide. If you need to use candles (e.g. religious ceremonies), you can reduce the smoke problem using "hurricane glass" enclosures, a decorative accessory that protects the candles from drafts and ensures a constant up-flow of air around the candle, and using proper ventilation while the candles are still burning."