5 ms·

> chemical-free Are they selling a vacuum? What could that phrase possibly mean with regards to baryonic matter?

checkyoursudo 8y ago
The types of mommy-bloggers and non-a-list celebs who would think dihydrogen monoxide is a caustic toxin. It's a certain type. You'll know them when you see/read them. ;)
- checkyoursudo 8y ago
  I am sorry. That was a dumb joke to try to make.
- apatters 8y ago
  Well it actually is both of those things, if you sit in it long enough you'll melt, if you breathe it in you'll die, so maybe they're smarter than you think :)
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
You forgot the Golden Rule. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.¹ 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- spacehome 8y ago
  I'm really trying. Some things some people think are just nonsensical because their model of reality is too inaccurate.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - whatshisface 8y ago
    "Chemical-free" is an abbreviation of "dangerous chemical free," or in some cases (for car seats, not so much food), "chemically inert." Nobody would ever have a reason to specify that something should contain no chemicals at all, so the word "dangerous" is dropped in what is essentially an application of Huffman coding. ;)
    - checkyoursudo 8y ago
      Yes, this is what the endorsers were meaning, and what most people mean when saying it (general populace, marketers, etc). Toxin-free. Poison-free. Dye-free. Fragrance-free. This is the vernacular usage of "chemical free" in the US.
      - TeMPOraL 8y ago
        > Toxin-free. Poison-free. Dye-free. Fragrance-free. Artificial toxin/poison/dye/fragrance-free. You can shove as much naturally occurring toxins in the product as you like, and both marketers and regular people will agree it's "chemical-free". And that's side-stepping the whole "artificial" vs. "natural" nonsense. 'spacehome may be pedantic in this context, but in general, he's right - regular people have their model of the world ridiculously out of sync with reality. Which is of course readily exploited by advertisers selling "chemical free", "natural", "organic" products, which are no better (and sometimes worse) than the "artificial" ones, but still command a premium price.
        cwkoss 8y ago
        The world would be a better place if someone called out "chemical free" as a bullshit phrase every time it was used.
    - spacehome 8y ago
      I could be misinterpreting people, but I think there are people who haven't quite thought it through this much.

The types of mommy-bloggers and non-a-list celebs who would think dihydrogen monoxide is a caustic toxin. It's a certain type. You'll know them when you see/read them. ;)

checkyoursudo 8y ago
I am sorry. That was a dumb joke to try to make.
apatters 8y ago
Well it actually is both of those things, if you sit in it long enough you'll melt, if you breathe it in you'll die, so maybe they're smarter than you think :)
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago

You forgot the Golden Rule. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.¹ 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

spacehome 8y ago
I'm really trying. Some things some people think are just nonsensical because their model of reality is too inaccurate.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- whatshisface 8y ago
  "Chemical-free" is an abbreviation of "dangerous chemical free," or in some cases (for car seats, not so much food), "chemically inert." Nobody would ever have a reason to specify that something should contain no chemicals at all, so the word "dangerous" is dropped in what is essentially an application of Huffman coding. ;)
  - checkyoursudo 8y ago
    Yes, this is what the endorsers were meaning, and what most people mean when saying it (general populace, marketers, etc). Toxin-free. Poison-free. Dye-free. Fragrance-free. This is the vernacular usage of "chemical free" in the US.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      > Toxin-free. Poison-free. Dye-free. Fragrance-free. Artificial toxin/poison/dye/fragrance-free. You can shove as much naturally occurring toxins in the product as you like, and both marketers and regular people will agree it's "chemical-free". And that's side-stepping the whole "artificial" vs. "natural" nonsense. 'spacehome may be pedantic in this context, but in general, he's right - regular people have their model of the world ridiculously out of sync with reality. Which is of course readily exploited by advertisers selling "chemical free", "natural", "organic" products, which are no better (and sometimes worse) than the "artificial" ones, but still command a premium price.
      - cwkoss 8y ago
        The world would be a better place if someone called out "chemical free" as a bullshit phrase every time it was used.
  - spacehome 8y ago
    I could be misinterpreting people, but I think there are people who haven't quite thought it through this much.