Viral

Scars Unseen

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May 7, 2009
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TotallyTroll said:
Wikipedia said:
Metabolites

Hypotheses of adverse health effects have focused on the three metabolites of aspartame, which are aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine. Aspartame is rapidly hydrolyzed in the small intestines. Even with ingestion of very high doses of aspartame (over 200 mg/kg), no aspartame is found in the blood due to the rapid breakdown.[8] These metabolites have been studied in a wide range of populations including infants, children, adolescents, and healthy adults. In healthy adults and children, even enormous doses of aspartame do not lead to plasma levels of metabolites that are a concern for safety.

Aspartate

Aspartic acid (aspartate) is one of the most common amino acids in the typical diet but nevertheless has been implicated as a possible source for neurotoxic effects of aspartame. As with methanol and phenylalanine, intake of aspartic acid from aspartame is less than would be expected from other dietary sources. At the 90th percentile of intake, aspartame provides only between 1% and 2% of the daily intake of aspartic acid. There has been some speculation that aspartame, in conjunction with other amino acids like glutamate, may lead to excitotoxicity, inflicting damage on brain and nerve cells. However, clinical studies have shown no signs of neurotoxic effects,[8] and studies of metabolism suggests it is not possible to ingest enough aspartic acid and glutamate through food and drink to levels that would be expected to be toxic.[61]

Methanol

The methanol produced by the metabolism of aspartame is absorbed and quickly converted into formaldehyde and then completely converted to formic acid, which, due to its long half life, is considered the primary mechanism of toxicity in methanol poisoning. The methanol from aspartame is unlikely to be a safety concern for several reasons. The amount of methanol in aspartame is less than that found in fruit juices and citrus fruits, and there are other dietary sources for methanol such as fermented beverages. Therefore, the amount of methanol produced from aspartame is likely to be less than that from natural sources. With regards to formaldehyde, it is rapidly converted in the body, and the amounts of formaldehyde from the metabolism of aspartame is trivial when compared to the amounts produced routinely by the human body and from other foods and drugs. At the highest expected human doses of consumption of aspartame, there are no increased blood levels of methanol or formic acid,[8] and ingesting aspartame at the 90th percentile of intake would produce 25 times less methanol than would be considered toxic.[61]

Phenylalanine

People with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria are advised to avoid aspartame as they have a decreased ability to metabolize phenylalanine. Common foods such as milk, meat, and fruits provide far greater amounts of these metabolites in a diet than aspartame.[61]
Phenylalanine is one of the essential amino acids and is required for normal growth and maintenance of life. Concerns about the safety of phenylalanine from aspartame center largely around hypothetical changes in neurotransmitter levels as well as ratios of neurotransmitters to each other in the blood and brain that could lead to neurological symptoms. Reviews of the literature have found no consistent findings to support such concerns,[61] and while high doses of aspartame consumption may have some biochemical effects, these effects are not seen in toxicity studies to suggest aspartame can adversely affect neuronal function.[8] Like methanol, the typical diet will lead to ingestion of significantly higher amounts of phenylalanine than would be expected from aspartame consumption.[61]
Maybe not enough for a formal paper, but I'll take a well cited wikipedia page over a youtube video any day of the week.
Hmmm... A video i doubt you watched for one.
If you are forming potentially life threatening opinions from Wikipedia articles then you probably deserve what you get.

Despite the nature of the blurbs, they did not lie (they are just highly evasive). I think the key parts to pay attention to are where they talk about the components being absorbed. The methanol formed is fundamentally different than natural sources & there is no safe threshold at which to consume methanol. It is Bio-accumulative and will cause you to go blind.
Actually, I don't consume aspartame because it tastes like ass. You posted information(as your first post and under the name "TotallyTroll" of all things), and so I looked up the matter and found conflicting info. I imagine people can make up their own minds from there. I do wonder where all the blind people suffering from aspartame poisoning are though. The shit's been around for a while now.
 

CarlsonAndPeeters

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Mar 18, 2009
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Thunderous Cacophony said:
Dafttechno said:
The only deliberate attempt at viral marketing I can think of that worked well is Blendtec's Will it Blend series.
Hello, Dafttecho. Look at your comment. Now back to mine. Now back to your comment. Now back to mine. Sadly, it isn't mine, but if it stopped ignoring one of the most prolific viral ads in recent years and started remembering Old Spice, it could seem like mine.
Was the Old Spice add intended to go viral? Like, I'm sure they thought of that as a possibility, but the first time I saw it was on TV. Like, "Will it Blend" was a YouTube series, whereas Old Spice was a commercial that went viral? If I'm wrong let me know; genuinely asking.

Also, which Freddie Wong video was a put down of viral marketing? (and personally I'm fine with them making money from EA and other companies as long as the videos they make with that money are still great, and the kinds of videos FreddieW would have made anyways)
 

Waaghpowa

Needs more Dakka
Apr 13, 2010
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Elementary - Dear Watson said:
:( Greenday isn't proper punk...

Punk was a lot more raw... and had infinitely less ballads!
YOU NINJA YOU!

It's stuff like the Rolling Stones thing that makes me hate current generation music. Greenday the best Punk band? Does anyone know what punk music is or was? Maybe if you went back in time to the 90's when Greenday was first starting out, I would agree that they were a decent Punk band and that they vaguely fit the definition. Now they're just a bunch of main stream musicians who write a lot of ballads.

Also regarding viral ads. The nice thing about them is that it's pretty cheap to make one, which is good for people without the resources to advertise their product or, in the case of music, their band. Big companies getting into viral ads are just trying to be "with the times" so to speak and save money. Why spend thousands of dollars on a TV ad when you can spend a few hundred on a youtube video and have people promote it for you?

Now granted, the old spice ones and the blendtech ones probably aren't hurting for money, but at least they're hilarious and awesome. I always get this feeling that a big corporation viral video would feel artificial or forced.
 

TotallyTroll

New member
Sep 4, 2012
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Maybe not enough for a formal paper, but I'll take a well cited wikipedia page over a youtube video any day of the week.
Hmmm... A video i doubt you watched for one.
If you are forming potentially life threatening opinions from Wikipedia articles then you probably deserve what you get.

Despite the nature of the blurbs, they did not lie (they are just highly evasive). I think the key parts to pay attention to are where they talk about the components being absorbed. The methanol formed is fundamentally different than natural sources & there is no safe threshold at which to consume methanol. It is Bio-accumulative and will cause you to go blind.
Actually, I don't consume aspartame because it tastes like ass. You posted information(as your first post and under the name "TotallyTroll" of all things), and so I looked up the matter and found conflicting info. I imagine people can make up their own minds from there. I do wonder where all the blind people suffering from aspartame poisoning are though. The shit's been around for a while now.
I totally agree, & the name is just coincidence. People can/should make up there own minds about environmental & dietary dangers (except where they are forced on people, fluoride & the like). Give the video a watch, it can't hurt, and if it leaves you with more questions than answers, well... mission accomplished.

As for the people blinded by aspartame consumption; most of it gets diagnosed as all manner of macular degeneration. There are a few special cases of retinal detachment & spontaneous degeneration that have been positively/casually linked to aspartame consumption, but these are rare; the process normally happens slowly over decades & thus can ONLY be casually linked to people consuming huge quantities every day (a half pack of diet sodas). You probably aren't going to wake up one day and be blind because of it.

There are people like you who will stand up and say "well show me the horns" show me the obvious, unique, anecdotal symptoms. Well... they typically don't exist. Especially for substances operating at a quantum level, symptoms blend in with other symptoms & exasperate others.
 

Basement Cat

Keeping the Peace is Relaxing
Jul 26, 2012
2,379
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I've just gotten into Slender. And I'm drinking Splenda with my coffee as I write!!!

Why do I feel like someone just walked on my grave?

Evil Smurf said:
if you collect all the bags of sugar you get a free murder!
That bloodthirstiness or yours will serve you well at the Escapist's Hunger Games.

THEY MADE ME DO IT! THEY MADE ME DO IT!
 

TheRightToArmBears

New member
Dec 13, 2008
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Green Day, the best punk band ever... Mad people. Especially given that all the good (read: old) stuff is basically just Social Distortion-lite.
 

TAdamson

New member
Jun 20, 2012
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Uggh, another person spreading the idiot notion that artificial sweetener gives you cancer.

Shame on you Grey Carter. ;-)
 

Proverbial Jon

Not evil, just mildly malevolent
Nov 10, 2009
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Impluse_101 said:
Grey Carter said:
Viral

A Versatile Sugar Substitute

Read Full Article
I'm sorry, but this marketing campaign sounds more like a job for Splendorman.
I came here simply to make sure someone had posted this video!
 

Marik2

Phone Poster
Nov 10, 2009
5,462
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Caramel Frappe said:
Before I comment on the comic itself, is Slender man getting way more recognized thanks to the game Slender?
Pretty much yeah

It used to be just an inside internet made up rumor thing
 

WouldYouKindly

New member
Apr 17, 2011
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That little thing with Rolling Stones readers calling Green Day the best punk band ever almost made me angry before I realized that I really don't give a shit about what their readership thinks. The Clash, ************, have you heard them?
 

Impluse_101

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Jun 25, 2009
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Proverbial Jon said:
Impluse_101 said:
Grey Carter said:
Viral

A Versatile Sugar Substitute

Read Full Article
I'm sorry, but this marketing campaign sounds more like a job for Splendorman.
I came here simply to make sure someone had posted this video!
What saddens me the most is that slenderman is becoming mainstream. .w. XD
 

RJ 17

The Sound of Silence
Nov 27, 2011
8,687
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Pffft, Splendaman could whip Slenderman's ass. Splendaman's got that whole Burger King mascot thing going for him in that he shows up out of nowhere like a rapist (ahem, what do you think his tentacles are for?) offering you food products you didn't necessarily ask for but still take anyways because hey, it's free food.

Slenderman just feeds on your paranoia before gutting out your organs and hanging them in little baggies for unknown reasons. Ho-hum.
 

Falterfire

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Jul 9, 2012
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Dafttechno said:
The only deliberate attempt at viral marketing I can think of that worked well is Blendtec's Will it Blend series.
I'm not sure I'd qualify it as successful. In order for an advertisement to be successful it has to not only stick in peoples minds but also sell product. I don't personally know anybody who owns a BlendTec blender. So even if more people can connect 'Will it blend?' with BlendTec than can connect... whatever Cuisinart's ad is with Cuisinart, it doesn't matter if they still buy a Cuisinart blender instead.

On a related note: The "thatsa one spicy meatball!" commercial was actually for an antacid if I recall correctly and ended up not helping because although everybody knew about it, they connected it with spaghetti sauce or meatballs instead of antacids.

As for the Aspartame thing: If it takes decades to start causing deterioration, I'm not sure you can claim any sort of meaningful link. After all, I'm pretty sure I can provide scientific evidence to prove that people who drink water are significantly less fit forty years later than they were at the beginning of the study.

In fact, I'm not sure you'd be able to prove that something as common among older people as worsened eyesight is linked to any specific item. This is especially true given how universal artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame are these days. It's not like smoking where the effects are obviously connected and there's an obvious delineation between smokers and non-smokers. Even if you did try to compare the general health of people who do consume aspartame and those that don't, the simple fact that anybody willing to take the effort to avoid aspartame (See the bit about it being incredibly prevalent these days) is also probably the sort of person who in general pays more attention to the quality of their food and thus will likely be healthier regardless of what aspartame does or doesn't do.

A side note: No, I didn't watch the video. It's an hour and a half long. I'm not in the habit of wasting an hour and a half of my time to watch a biased video in order to continue an internet argument.
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
9,909
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Impluse_101 said:
Proverbial Jon said:
Impluse_101 said:
Grey Carter said:
Viral

A Versatile Sugar Substitute

Read Full Article
I'm sorry, but this marketing campaign sounds more like a job for Splendorman.
I came here simply to make sure someone had posted this video!
What saddens me the most is that slenderman is becoming mainstream. .w. XD
Well, yes and no. It's mainstream in the same way The Cthulhu Mythos is mainstream. It's known to nerds and those in fandom, and there are lots of us, and creators are using it as an inside joke in mainstream sources.

That said, with the relative success of things like "Marble Hornets" and Unfiction in general, you have to expect awareness to grow.

It was also from Something Awful which was never exactly underground.


All of those points aside, it seems there are at least two other Slenderman themed games under development, both mentioned under "Project Greenlight" on STEAM. I expect it to become rather popular in the indie game circuit for a while, though I doubt it will ever get to the point where we see Slendy vending products directly.

I'd also say that if someone DID decide to use Slenderman for profit of this type, there might be some backlash. I believe there was a social MMO a while back that was selling Meme themed items, and they wound up pretty much stopping after a pretty huge uprising from Goons, Chans, etc... threatned to decimate their business. I'd like to think that after what Lulzsec did to SoE (and they were just script kiddies) that big business is going to be careful about what it riles up at the moment. I could be wrong about that though.

Still, very awesome strip, all that was missing was a circle with an X over it. :)
 

Evil Smurf

Admin of Catoholics Anonymous
Nov 11, 2011
11,597
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Copper Zen said:
I've just gotten into Slender. And I'm drinking Splenda with my coffee as I write!!!

Why do I feel like someone just walked on my grave?

Evil Smurf said:
if you collect all the bags of sugar you get a free murder!
That bloodthirstiness or yours will serve you well at the Escapist's Hunger Games.

THEY MADE ME DO IT! THEY MADE ME DO IT!
And I will not spare anyone even if I like them. Bring it on!