Category Archives: Worry stone

Are Your Feet Electric Enough?

Posted on November 23, 2024 | 5 comments

Photo from iStock

Do you “ground” your feet enough? There are whole bunch of people out there that walk barefoot because they want to connect with the Earth and receive some sort of electric charge. It is also called “Earthing.” What I want to know is, can I charge my phone that way? Could I just leave it on the ground and get a charge?

Whoever’s feet these are, they need to see a dermatologist

You know me. I’m open enough that I’m willing to consider all kinds of paranormal stuff, so why not grounding? My first instinct was that this is all nonsense. So, I did a little research.

First I wanted to know if the Earth’s surface carries an electrical charge. Guess what? According to AI “the surface of the Earth is negatively charged relative to the upper atmosphere which carries a positive charge.”  

The barefooted gentleman above is Mack Hollins, a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills American football team. (GO BILLS!). This past summer he made waves after joining the Bills because, unless he’s on the football field, where his feet could get crushed by some very large men wearing cleats, he goes au naturel. If he’s not playing football, he walks barefooted because he believes in grounding. Mack and the Bills are having a good season, so Mack, feel free to go barefoot anywhere you want. If you are familiar with Buffalo Bills fans, this is our kind of “grounding”.

But I digress. This is supposed to be all about getting our toes muddy.

Just because they made this little diagram, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

I’m sure it feels nice walking in the grass, but I remember getting stung by a bee when I was grounding as a kid. I was way ahead of my time and that bee sting hurt quite a bit. So, have I convinced you to walk barefoot and fancy-free? What is fancy free? I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything that I would describe as fancy free.

Apparently it must be true because there is a movie about it. That’s not true. There are plenty of movies that are complete and utter rubbish. In fact, I think most movies are completely made up. But if you want to know more about the real benefits of grounding/Earthing, HERE is an article from WebMd. If some real doctors endorse grounding, then it must be beneficial just like all those drugs doctors endorse in TV commercials. I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the internet.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on grounding/Earthing in the comments.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading! ~Phil

5 Comments

Posted in Aging, Apocalypse, Art, books, Channing Tatum, Cheez Whiz, Christmas, Current Events, Darth Vader, dental humor, dibs, Dominos, Duggars, E-Z Pass, Fountain of youth, Gangnam Style, global warming, guest blogger, gym, Humor, interview, London riots, loyalty card, Meteor, miles card, Monday Blogs, monks, Movies, Music, Music Monday, Norway, nudity, OBX, Oprah Winfrey, paranormal, Pet humor, photograph, pop culture, Relationships, Russian meteor, Science, Super Bowl, Swag, Thanksgiving, The Bachelorette, The Phil Factor, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day, video blog, Worry stone

Tagged , , , ,

The Modern Worry Stone

Posted on June 7, 2009 | 9 comments

Worry stones are smooth, polished gemstones usually in the shape of an oval with a thumb-sized indentation. They originated in Ancient Greece. Held between the index finger and thumb, rubbing them is believed to lessen one’s worries. This action is a type of stimulation which can often create feelings of calmness and reduce stress levels.

Of course the ancient Greeks needed worry stones. They were constantly stressing about getting lost in the giant mazes and attacked by Minotaurs, or perhaps getting lured to their death on the rocks by the beautiful Sirens that sang to them on their commute to work. Then, if you were a guy, you had to constantly be on the lookout for one up the Gods coming down from Mount Olympus and trying to impregnate your girlfriend. It wasn’t the Gods fault. I mean, seriously, there were only about 12 of them. That’s like going to a high school with only 20 kids in your graduating class. Occasionally you’re going to have to date a freshman. Or even worse, you hook up with a cougar (hot older woman) and she turns out to be your mom. Bottom line, ancient Greece was a stressful place and some crazy old crackpot with an impossibly long name that ends in “ates” decided that rubbing a stone with your thumb would relax everybody. It was the ancient version of the pet rock. I’m pretty sure it was advertised in the Parthenon by the Sham Wow guy.

I propose that we as a culture have unkowingly created our own high tech version of the worry stone. The cell phone. What decreases worries more than communication? Our cell phones are our links to the entire world by call, text, I.M., and the internet. If we have a question, somehow, some way there is an answer in that little ball of technology we hold in our hand. And don’t we often just hold it, perhaps looking at it, feeling the weight of it and the smooth curves of it in our palm, reassured knowing that because of that little device we are never truly alone? Unless of course the battery dies, you can’t get a signal, or you’ve lost your charging cord. That’s when Zeus comes down from Mount Olympus and offers to charge it for you with one of his lightning bolts in exchange for sex.

9 Comments

Posted in cell phones, Worry stone