Brain-Eating Amoebas, Workplace Dress Codes, and Coffee's Surprising Health Benefits

Ever notice those unspoken rules that govern our daily lives? From office dress codes to bathroom etiquette between spouses, today we're diving into social norms that impact us more than we realize.

When a California woman wore jean shorts to her non-profit workplace, she was genuinely confused about why her outfit was deemed inappropriate. After sharing her outfit on TikTok and asking for opinions, 11 million views and countless comments later, the verdict was clear: shorts don't belong in most office environments. This story highlights how professional boundaries still exist even as workplace cultures evolve.

On a more serious note, we discuss a tragic case from Texas where a 71-year-old woman died after using tap water to rinse her sinuses while staying at an RV campground. The culprit? A brain-eating amoeba with a terrifying 97% fatality rate. This serves as a critical reminder that while ordinary tap water may be safe for drinking in most places, it should never be used for nasal irrigation without proper treatment. Texas and Florida apparently lead the nation in these rare but deadly infections.

Coffee lovers will appreciate our third topic - promising research from Harvard suggesting that moderate coffee consumption (up to 2.5 cups daily) might actually increase your odds of healthy aging. The 30-year study of over 47,000 nurses found that specifically caffeinated coffee - not tea or decaf - was associated with better aging outcomes including fewer chronic diseases and better cognitive function.

We wrap up with an honest discussion about bathroom privacy between spouses. Do you expect your partner to knock before entering the bathroom, or is that level of privacy unnecessary after years together? This seemingly small issue touches on deeper relationship dynamics around personal boundaries and respect.

Have thoughts about any of these topics? I'd love to hear your perspective, especially on the bathroom privacy question! Send me your comments or share your own experiences.

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 Inappropriate Work Outfit Controversy
• 2:58 Brain-Eating Amoeba from Tap Water
• 5:45 Coffee and Healthy Aging Research
• 8:17 Bathroom Privacy Question of the Day
• 10:29 Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

All right, we're getting right to it. We have three topics. Two of them are pretty light, one of them is All right. So this employee is slammed for not seeing anything wrong with her inappropriate work outfit. I have covered these kind of stories before and here's another one, so she's confused. This outfit left the house in the first place. That didn't make any sense. This is from the New York Post, this little gal. She got sent home or told her work attire was inappropriate or something I don't know, and then she went to TikTok to say what's wrong with my outfit? Well, people let her know, and here's why she wore a black top, long sleeve black top, not revealing at all, it was fine. But the lower half she had on some blue jean shorts. Come on, come on now. One woman's coworker complained about her office attire so that she turned to TikTok to ask if she was in the wrong. And yes, they let her know she was indeed, and it has a picture of it on the New York Post If you'd like to go see that. They were not Daisy Duke shorts by any means, but supposedly people were still up in arms over them. In a TikTok video viewed over 11 million people, she showed off this infamous outfit and wrote Are my shorts inappropriate for work? Yes, any kind of shorts. Shorts, unless you're doing landscape work, unless you're at a restaurant that allows it or something you know like that. But a work environment, office environment, no, and it's. Let's see. Where does it say that she works? Oh, my gosh, I have to go. Oh, here we go. She works at an affordable housing non-profit in california. On a regular work day, aljandro carino opted for a black long sleeve, top heeled shoes and jean shorts. So it's. Not only does she have on the jean shorts, but she had on some heels. Now, the heels were not high or anything. They were appropriate for work. I I looked at them, the shorts there. While they're not short shorts, hmm, they're still denim, blue jeans and they're a well above the knee, but at least below the ass. There's you a quote giblets. So, yeah, no, not appropriate for office attire. No, no, ma'am, no little girl. Go home and change your clothes, all right. This next one, texas. So yeah, no, not appropriate for office attire. No, no, ma'am, no little girl. Go home and change your clothes, all right, this next one Texas.

Speaker 1: 2:44

Woman died after rinsing her sinuses with infected tap water. Here's how to keep yourself safe. And you know, this has me worried all over the place because I drink tap water every single day. Every single day, I get my Stanley cup, put some ice in it and, yes, I pour water into it from our kitchen tap. Oh my gosh, the horror. But this lady was not in her home, she was in an RV. All right, here we go.

Speaker 1: 3:09

A 71-year-old woman reportedly contracted a brain infection from using tap water and died from it. Regardless of whether tap water is safe to consume where you live, experts advise against let it go, letting it go into your sinuses or you risk being exposed to a brain eating condition like this unidentified woman. Talk about a terrifying paragraph and it doesn't. It doesn't specify, it doesn't give exceptions, it just says tap water. So, according to the CDC, of course, don't believe anything. The CDC says if water contains amoeba, single-celled organisms, and it gets into a person's nose, it can travel to the brain and cause the fatal infection commonly known as brain-eating amoeba. Oh, that is just terrifying.

Speaker 1: 4:00

So although the Texas Department apparently this happened in Texas, so all of my Texas listeners, if I have any beware, although the Texas Department of State Health and Services claims that the sink water in the area is safe to consume. They believe the woman rinsed her sinuses from an RV's water system at a campground and was infected by this amoeba-eating brain thing explained by the Daily Mail. The condition, typically found in warm water, lakes and rivers, is rare, but it is deadly, killing almost 97% of the people who contract it. My goodness gracious of the people who contracted, my goodness gracious so, and reportedly, texas is one of the few us states that has the largest number of amoeba cases. In texas, you ought to get your skate. You got to get your act together. In addition to texas, florida also has fallen victim to this terrifying infection. Oh, my goodness gracious. In 2023, a, a Florida woman contracted the brain eating infection the same way the Texas woman did and died from it.

Speaker 1: 5:06

Good heavens, uh yeah, don't use a neti pot in the RV campground water. All right. One last thing. We've got some another thing for the New York post. Now, look, I have only read the first paragraph and when I went, when I read the first paragraph, I was like that's it, I'm done, I love it. That's all I need to know. But let's see what the rest of the article says, just in case there's something else going on.

Speaker 1: 5:31

Drinking this up to 2.5 times a day increases your odds of aging. Well, you ready for it? You ready. I'm so excited about this.

Speaker 1: 5:42

Research suggests that consuming moderate amounts of caffeine can help you live longer. And yet another study right. One study says no, it's horrible for you, stop drinking it. Another study says, no, it's fine Age well, all right.

Speaker 1: 6:01

Scientists at Harvard wanted to see if the caffeine source matters. They tracked the mid-life coffee, tea, cola and decaf coffee consumptions of over 47,000 nurses. In the 30-year follow-up period, about 3,700 women met the criteria for healthy aging. That was defined as living past 70, being free from 11 major chronic diseases and having no trouble of physical function, mental health and cognitive memory. I don't know that this has anything to do with caffeine. It might just be the genes. Okay, the findings suggest that caffeinatedinated coffee, not tea or decaf may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function, said sarah madhavi, a post-doctorate fellow at harvard.

Speaker 1: 6:56

From 45 to 60, the female study participants typically consumed an average of 315 milligrams of daily caffeine. Each extra cup of Joe beyond 80 milligrams a day was linked to 2% 5% greater odds of aging healthy. Up to about two and a half cups. Well, I'd at least drink that. So I'm, that's good, that's good, I'm going'm gonna live, I'm gonna, I'm gonna age healthy, although I know I do have high blood pressure, I do have uh, what's the other cholesterol problems? But I tell you what, with this keto eating thing, that we're doing much better I feel. So I feel back to my old self again, like when I was in my 40s, my eight. My joints are not achy, they're not inflamed or swollen. Now let me tell you, this keto diet is a bitch. I hate it, but I feel better. All right, my moderate coffee intake may offer some. Okay, that's it. That's all I need to say. You can go finish reading it over there.

Speaker 1: 8:01

We need to do the question of the day. Oh, I have a doozy for you, for you married people out there. This may be a pet peeve of mine. I hope the gent is not listening now. I say this all in jest, okay? So if he is listening, please don't get upset with me.

Speaker 1: 8:20

So when you're in the bathroom, your home bathroom, you have the door shut. You're doing whatever you're doing Showering, going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth whatever, taking off your makeup, whatever and then, all of a sudden the door opens and in comes your spouse, without any kind of warning or anything, scares the shit out of me. I don't know why. I think it's because I'm in the bathroom with the door shut and in the bathroom women feel vulnerable. I think this is what kelly j talks about all the time, with not wanting men in our spaces.

Speaker 1: 8:52

Now I granted, he's my husband of 17 years now. He's seen me in the bathroom. He's seen me at my worst. I know it's not that, it's not the thing of oh my gosh, I don't want him to see me this way, not. It's just that I think, because I'm in the bathroom and I have the door shut and then all of a sudden, boom, without any warning, the door opens. It just, it scares me, it aggravates me. It aggravates me and I've asked him to knock on the door.

Speaker 1: 9:19

Well, last night I was in the shower. Sure enough, he comes barging in the bath. I say barging. He did not barge in the bathroom last night, but he didn't knock either. He definitely opened the door. I didn't hear him open the door, but I heard his voice. Hey, can I come in and brush my teeth? And of course he can. I don't care, but I mean, do you know what I'm saying? So when you're in the bathroom by yourself and your wife or whoever your spouse wants to come in and do you want them to knock or just leave you alone or what, or do you not even care? Men may be different. I'm sure men are different. So if I have any female listeners out there, women listeners, let me know what you think about that. Or men, ask your wives, tell me what your wives say about it. I'm probably stupid and I'm probably the only one. I'm probably alone in this. All right, I guess if you can get a question out of that, that's the question. All right, gotta go Love y'all. Thanks for listening. Bye.