October 2007 - Posts
By Linda Dahlstrom
What it is: Canine Heritage Breed Test, $65
What it claims to do: Genetically determine the breed composition of your dog based on a DNA swab. It tests for 38 different breeds and reports back your dog’s primary breed, secondary ones and those leftovers that are somewhere “in the mix.”
Our experience: When people meet my dog, the first question I get is usually, “What is he?” The truth is, he looks like he’s a combination of bear, llama and Labrador, possibly with some three-toed sloth thrown in. In the summer, when he’s shaved, it seems clear there’s a black Lab underneath all that hair. But in the winter, all bets are off.
Sherman is from the pound, so I have no clue who his canine ancestors are, only that there were probably many, many kinds of them.
I hoped the Canine Heritage Breed Test might settle his lineage question once and for all. MSNBC.com ordered two tests – one for Sherman and one for our control group, a purebred Chihuahua named Bobo.
Vote: What do you think is Sherman's primary breed?
Doing the test is easy – you just swab the inside of your dog’s cheek with a special brush the company sends, mail it back and wait for the results.
When the envelope arrived about five weeks later, I tore it open, eager to at last know the truth. Would he be a Lab? A Newfoundland? A border collie mix? A pug? And the envelope said …. The company really has no clue. Sherman appears to have stumped even science.
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By Linda Dahlstrom
What it is: Strong Idea’s Head Spa massager, $49.95
What it claims to do: Relieve tension in your neck and head, increase blood circulation, stimulate millions of nerve endings and ease sinus and head pain with 15 points of vibration. The packaging says “It’s like a spa for your brain and soul.”
Our experience: The tagline of the Head Spa is “Enter a state of euphoria.” But it’s hard to let go and enter that level of bliss when you look like a fool. The biggest flaw of the Head Spa is its design, which seems to be inspired by gladiators and spacemen.
The manufacturer suggests you use it on your morning commute and at your desk. But during my drive in, I barely cleared the car ceiling. And, unless the setting was turned to very low vibrations, it was impossible to use at my desk because the shaking caused me to see double on my computer screen.
It also struck a blow to my self-esteem when I realized I must have a pinhead since the helmet was too big and a total of eight of the 15 contact points didn’t reach my scalp. But a quick survey of co-workers, both male and female, revealed the same problem in five out of six of them.
The vibrating points that actually made contact – particular the ones at my neck – did feel good when set at medium speed (any higher than that made my teeth chatter). One night when I had a stiff neck, I wore the head spa and after about 10 minutes, my muscles did feel more relaxed.
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By Linda Dahlstrom
What it is: HealthCare’s Snore Stopper, $49.95
What it claims to do: Reduce snoring and help the wearer sleep better and wake refreshed. The maker of this device, which you wear like a wristwatch, says it is based on the concept of biofeedback. When it detects snores, it is supposed to give a “barely noticeable” five-second electrical impulse on the wrist to triggers the snorer to change sleeping position or increase muscle tension in the throat to reduce snores.
Our experience: I learned the hard way that it’s not just snoring that this device detects. It also gave me the smack down when my dog barked and when I washed my hands before bed. But the biggest problem for me was that the sound of my 8-month-old son crying or babbling also set it off. I felt my stress level skyrocket every time my wrist buzzed as I held my crying son at 4 a.m.
In addition to being annoyed by it when I was awake, it also roused me from my sleep several times when I had the audacity to, apparently noisily, pull up my down comforter.
I’ve snored periodically since I was pregnant – much to my husband’s chagrin, so I hoped this device would help. But according to the love of my life, it didn’t. During the two weeks I wore it, he still poked, prodded - and once even held my nose - to prod me into rolling over just as often as when I wasn’t wearing the Snore Stopper.
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