Introduction
The aliens at the Olympics have been amazing. We are captivated by the awe, awe, and respect for the beyond-belief levels of sustained brutal training, laser focus, and genius-level skills exhibited by those who rose to Olympic heights, let alone scaled the summits called podiums. And then there are people like Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and other Super People, who in no way could have been born on this planet. Something is going on here, and I hope that Donald Trump will soon ask direct questions, raising suspicions about these Promethean heroes and heroines who infiltrated among us mere mortals.
Speaking of Michael Phelps, let me ask a question: “What’s with those circular bruises?” A bit of research reveals that “Michael The Great” might suffer from some credulity regarding New Age, Alternative/Integrative/Traditional Chinese Medicine BS.
Cupping is a fad involving “the flow of one’s life force through the suction of hot glass containers applied to the skin.” Holy hocus pocus. How come US or other Olympic officials allowed athletes to flaunt their cups on primetime world television? Such appearances were gratuitous advertisements for pseudoscience. The exposure of the cupping marks on the winners lent an air of legitimacy to the unfounded and potentially harmful treatments; all this was transmitted to the consciousness of impressionable children and gullible adults. Pity.
As for cupping, this nonsense has no medical or scientific basis and can be quite dangerous, often leading to burns and infection.
olympic gullibility
Did you observe the indicators of the woo woo testimonials during the interviews? No, I’m not referring to the many signs of the cross before or after the races (is it a good luck charm or a request for help from a deity?). I’m referring to interviewees who stated: “I’m so blessed” (unlike their rivals who weren’t blessed?), fingers in the air pointing to a god in the sky watching the event, or other indications that some athletes trust and believe in homeopathy, acupuncture, kinesiology tape and yes, cupping.
What happened to the rabbit’s foot?
Cupping?
Basically, cupping involves someone placing hot suction cups or glass bulbs on your skin. Olympians said they used cupping to relieve pain in order to swim or run faster, jump higher, stay cooler, align their chakras and qi, and/or do whatever they wanted cupping to do for them. But, of course, they had to believe, that is, have faith, as in religion.
In addition to the ancient Chinese, it appears that some North American Indians were engaged in cupping, as were the Egyptians over a thousand years before we got to AD 1. alternative medicine that could make a comeback one of these days, if a movie star or a celebrity or a Dr. Oz or Deepak recommends it.
In recent days, ever since Phelps showed himself to the 400 IM with cupping marks on his upper body, pictures have surfaced on the internet showing cupping victims gone wrong. It can be dangerous to allow a charlatan to suck “poisons” or “toxins” out of your body. Doctors consider some brands of cupping to be second or even third degree burns. Such wounds can become infected and possibly septic.
Consider what a renowned doctor named David Gorski wrote in “The Science Blog” on July 1, 2016:
Cupping is nothing more than an ancient medical practice based on a pre-scientific understanding of the body and disease, just like bloodletting and treatments based on the ‘Four Humours’. everything is risk without benefit. It has no place in modern medicine, or at least it shouldn’t. After all, we still don’t believe in the four humors that Hippocrates and ancient “western” medicine invoked for hundreds of years. TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is largely based on the same concepts, just under different names, substituting, for example, the ‘Five Elements’ for the ‘Four Humors’ and attributing disease to imbalances in them, such as the ancient western doctors attributed disease to imbalances in the ‘Four Humors’. However, ‘integrative medicine’ rejects one and embraces the other when it should reject both.
Everybody say hello to the olympians, anyway
Cupping and other superstitions aside, in my opinion there is nothing but awe and appreciation for the magnificent performances displayed by almost all of the competitors (Hope Solo? Maybe not so much). Olympians are truly amazing, even more so if they aren’t aliens after all.
Perhaps those who inadvertently promoted medical nonsense will use their platforms in the future to promote evidence-based medicine, scientific acumen and skeptical inquiry, and perhaps even REAL wellness, for years to come.
Be well, enjoy the hunt, and die healthy, but not until you’re well and good.