Gwyneth, Snooki Top 'Bad Science' List

Shockingly, no, whale sperm does not make the ocean salty
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2011 10:55 AM CST
Gwyneth, Snooki Top 'Bad Science' List
Gwyneth Paltrow poses on the red carpet ahead of the Bambi 2011 media award ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011.   (AP Photo/dapd, Clemens Bilan)

If you’re getting your science education from celebrities, you may have a problem—but even so, the Sense About Science charity wants to set some things straight. The group has released a list of celebrities doling out “bad science” this year, the Telegraph reports. It includes:

  • Simon Cowell: The onetime American Idol judge said that taking vitamins C, B12, and magnesium intravenously makes him feel and look younger. A dietitian, however, says Cowell probably isn’t getting much benefit from the regimen, and that most people get all the vitamins they need from food—unless one has a specific vitamin deficiency.

  • Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi: In a sentence that could only have come from the mouth of a Jersey Shore star, she claimed that sea water is “all whale sperm. That’s why the ocean’s salty.” Though it may seem completely unnecessary for an oceanographer to have to dismiss the claim, one did, noting that the salt actually comes from “many millions of years of water flowing over rocks and minerals.”
  • Gwyneth Paltrow: On her Goop blog, the actress touted a detox program for offering “mental clarity,” and the added bonus of shedding pounds. But a doctor counters, “Your body has its own fantastic detox system already in place in the shape of your liver and kidneys. Much better to drink plenty of water, eat a balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, and let your body do what it does best."
Click for more from the list, which also includes Michele Bachmann. (More Gwyneth Paltrow stories.)

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