The Sugar Cane And Cat Urine Hoax

Discussion in 'Adrian Wong' started by Adrian Wong, Apr 25, 2011.

  1. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Well, well, what do we have here - another round of the rather old hoax about sugar cane and cat urine. Check it out :

    PS. I can't read or write Chinese, but I included it anyway for those who can.

    Anyway, here's my take on the hoax.

    1. Yes, it's a hoax. A well-known and rather old hoax, to be exact.

    2. I'm not a Singaporean, but AFAIK, their health inspectors are under the Ministry of Health, not the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

    3. If it's true that the health inspectors discovered that sugar cane was a source of bacteria, cat urine, etc. do you not think the Ministry of Health would have issued a warning?

    4. Anyone who has ever purchased sugar cane juice from a hawker in Singapore knows they will NEVER place the sugar canes on the floor. That's just asking for a stiff fine. Doing that in front of health inspectors? That's just asking to get shut down!

    5. Even here in Malaysia, no one stacks sugar canes vertically these days. Maybe in the old, old days when they transported them by bicycles, but these days, the sugar canes are chopped into shorter pieces and stacked on the table top for easy access and handling.

    6. Technically, a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion only applies to foetuses of 20 weeks or less. Beyond 20 weeks, it's known as still-birth. So technically, an abortion after 6-7 months is still-birth, not miscarriage.

    7. It's VERY, VERY unlikely for an autopsy to be carried out on an aborted foetus. Seriously, this is quite a common occurrence so it's impractical to do an autopsy unless there's reason to suspect foul play or some kind of environmental contaminant.

    8. If a toxin is found, it is unlikely to be tied exclusively to cat's urine. What's in cat's urine is almost certainly found in the urine of many animals, including humans. Mammalian urine basically consists of pretty much the same substances. If there's a contaminant in cat's urine, then logically the same contaminant can also be present in the urine of other animals.

    9. Even if there's a kind of toxin present in the sugar cane juice, it is unlikely for it to detrimentally affect the foetus unless the mother regularly drinks the contaminated juice from the same vendor (who must continue to contaminate his drinks daily).

    10. What's most telling about this hoax mail is that the writer refuses to identify the toxin that killed the baby as it would have to meet the following requirements :
    - Present only in cat's urine
    - Harmless to human adults
    - Toxic to human foetus and babies

    So, stop spreading this stupid hoax mail. Seriously, I have no idea how many copies I've received and deleted.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2011
  2. Trinity

    Trinity Little Kiki Staff Member

  3. The_YongGrand

    The_YongGrand Just Started

    Hmm, about the cat urine, if it's not toxic, how about contamination? Bacteria? I mean, it's not toxic but it's surely dirty. :think:
     
  4. zy

    zy zynine.com Staff Member

    Cat urine sticks like hell.. :whistle:
     
  5. karhoe

    karhoe Newbie

    Sticks? We should then process them into UHU glue - or you meant stinks LOL
     
  6. zy

    zy zynine.com Staff Member

    opps. :oops:
    stinks :whistle:
     
  7. Adrian Wong

    Adrian Wong Da Boss Staff Member

    Sure, sugar canes juice can be contaminated. So can all other kinds of juices or foods. But that's not the point.

    What I'm pointing out is that this is just a hoax mail. It's not possible for sugar cane juice contaminated by cat's urine to kill a foetus.
     
  8. The_YongGrand

    The_YongGrand Just Started

    Yeah, hoax mail contains nothing but misinformation.

    The thing is, it's just not cat's urine. Anything can be on a dirty floor, anyway.
     

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