Image by Radosław Kut, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:
1. When flossing was first introduced as a dental care technique, there was no proof required when suggesting remedies. As a result, the majority of us in the Western world have been taught by our parents (who learned from our dentists and the mainstream media) that flossing is an essential technique. However, it turns out that an analysis of the scientific evidence did not find that flossing prevents gum disease and cavities. Due to this finding, the federal government's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" will no longer list suggestions for flossing, much to the dismay of the American Dental Association, which still advocates for the practice. This simply means that the recommendation has been removed from the guidelines due to a lack of scientific evidence. But it doesn't mean that flossing doesn't actually help prevent gum disease and cavities—there is just currently a lack of scientific evidence, so the government has to remove the recommendation unless a new body of evidence is presented that will back up the claim.
2. As a young nerd, I had a subscription to the video game magazine Nintendo Power for several years. I gave away my collection of magazines a few years ago in an ongoing attempt to lessen my physical possessions and assumed I would never see them again. However, the first 13 years of the magazine have now been added to Archive.org. Fellow nerds can take a trip down memory lane (or explore them for the first time) by perusing the Archive.org collection.
That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.