Healthy Lifestyles Response Pack

In the mail today there was an envelope addressed to me (not "current resident") with a picture of a couple who look perhaps 60 and the heading, "Healthy Lifestyles Response Pack." I was intrigued, so I tore the envelope open and rifled through the contents. Inside, there were a whopping 41 postcard-sized ads, most of which were for health & wellness related products, with a heavy skew toward the geriatric. There were a few things that stood out that I thought I'd share, as a break from my typical rants.

The first thing I pulled out was a card headed with the question, "How do the Japanese Manage to Stay Healthy During the Flu Season?" (A couple of immediate questions from me: Do the Japanese really manage to stay healthy during the flu season? If so, how do they manage it?) The answer, according to the card, is that "They Take AHCC!" Apparently, AHCC is "a blend of Japanese medicinal mushrooms..." Yeah...who wouldn't feel great during flu season with some medicinal mushrooms?

The other one that really got me was the one for the Vacurect, a Vacuum Erection Device (VED) that the card informed me "is unlike conventional VED's. The Vacurect is a very compact, one-piece, easy-to-use system." Who knew such a thing existed? And it's manufactured by a company called Bonro. Subtle. http://www.bonro.com/shop

In the midst of all of the health-related ads, there were a few that were a bit out of place: a coupon for 50 cents off Egg-land's Best eggs, an offer for a complete set of all 50 state quarters, and a plug for DirecTV packages. I'd think that last one would run counter to the health & wellness theme...

Random blog post, yes. But an even more random piece of mail...