This week in Shanghaiist
Ladies (and guys with long hair), resist from buying those cheap hair bands you find at the mom and pop stores in your 'hood because the news is out that some of them are made from USED condoms. China Daily cites an unnamed dermatologist with the Guangzhou Hospital of Armed Police who says viruses and bacteria abound on these hair bands recycled from condoms and users could be infected with AIDS, genital warts and other sexually transmitted diseases (any doctors here? How long can those viruses live outside the human body?). True or not, the thought of using anything made from somebody's used condoms is revolting enough to make us not to want to have long hair ever.
So it does appear there'll be no end in sight to the string of headline-hitting product scares. This year has seen quite a few high-profile ones and no we are not repeating them here again. Earlier this week, more Chinese toys were recalled in Australia and the US when they were found to contain the date rape drug, gamma hydroxy butyrate, better known as GHB (can you imagine all those poor kids getting high while playing with their toys?). What's heartening in the latest hair band case is that the Chinese media were the first to report the problem, and not some foreign product quality authority. We will bet a million more stories are out there waiting to be told. Hopefully the authorities realise that it is way better to allow your own media to uncover those nasty stories before they make their way across the border. Honesty is still the best policy.
Photo from Ruddington Photos
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Where are the factories getting the used condoms from? Did I miss that recycling bin? It must be beside the one for old batteries outside my apartment.
Recycling with vibrant, colorful and beautiful Chinese characteristics.
This is repulsive. I do kinda feel bad for the people fishing through trash for the condoms.
Everything about this screams urban legend. First off, the latex used in condoms is pretty different than what's used in hair bands. But more importantly - who has THAT many used condoms? Are they collecting outside "massage parlours" - seems like a waste of time.
EVEN if it were true, and my unscientific opinion is that it's not - wouldn't they have to be melted down and reformed? How does the HIV virus or anything live through that?
Anyways - this sounds like a total non-starter. Shanghaiist - you need your cynic glasses re-tuned.
i saw this in the news this morning too. if this is an urban legend, then it's definitely one that's made its way around the world. and it's easy to see why the media is lapping it up.