One of the posts at Persuasion Business that garnered the most e-mail attention was a piece on a nasal irrigation device that had managed to score some big attention in the United States, despite what one public relations blog had termed a bad pitch to news media.
Well, the craze has hit St. John's. One of the flyers that arrived in the mailbox this week included a small ad, right, offering 20% off the price of a little blue teapot-shaped contraption. The idea is that the spout end goes up your nose and by rinsing out your nasal cavity, you can reduce the symptoms of allergies and colds.
Lovely concept.
The original post included the picture at left showing a charming young woman with what appears to be a porcelain gravy boat jammed in her nostril.
Maybe that's what helped generate the e-mails, most of which included the question "Where do you find this stuff?".
No. No.
Not the bidet.
The post on it.
Anyway.
Those who want to be early adopters of the latest health fad can find the little teapots at your local Shoppers Drug Mart. They may be in other places, but this ad appeared in the weekly SDM flyer.
If you still haven't been convinced - *sigh*- of the value of this little marvel, then check a website for one outfit that has been plugging the idea of plugging a teapot in your snout since 1972. The Himalayan Institute has what they describe as an award winning instructional video.
You'll find the official netipot video at youtube, but if you search you'll also find enough amateur demo vids to make it clear that the thing is obviously a bit of a cult craze.
Yes, yes, we have entered a world in which proboscal lavage is a means of self expression. Notice that in the marketing shots, everyone is having a good time.
Notice that in the amateur stuff, people are having a good time, but for entirely different reasons.
None of this should be a surprise though. people have been hunting for supposedly natural or holistic health things for decades. If someone could come up with the idea you could live a healthier life with regular "colonic irrigation"using coffee, it was only a matter of time before a less-adventurous but no less dedicated New Ager thought of pouring fluids into another part of the anatomy where fluids don't usually go.
Frankly, there are better uses for coffee and a decent whiskey.
-srbp-