Jack D. Ripper Was Right About Fluoride
Who's laughing now, hippies?
For 60 years now, film buffs have laughed at United States Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper.
But he was right.
Ripper was one of the antagonists of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant satire of Cold War America. A cigar-chomping, essence-denying, ultra-paranoid right-wing nut, Ripper has been the butt of jokes since before most Americans today were even born.
Who can forget: “Mandrake, have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?”
The great Sterling Hayden, folks. And Peter Sellers played three different roles in the film, including the titular doctor, but Mandrake has always been my favorite. I love his nervous laughter at the rantings of an obvious lunatic.
But now, long after everyone involved in that slanderous portrayal is dead and gone, we’ve learned Ripper wasn’t so crazy after all!
A US government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children.
The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined — “with moderate confidence” — that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids…
The report did not try to quantify exactly how many IQ points might be lost at different levels of fluoride exposure.
As I look around today, I’m gonna estimate 75-100 points at a minimum.