Death by caffeine

I think I've blogged about this before, but check out http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine - if you're sensitive about your weight, be sure to visit in private since you'll need to put your weight into the blank to see the results. Why is this important? Because people tend to underestimate the potent effects of caffeine. Such as this guy who washed down two teaspoonfuls of caffeine with an energy drink on a one-way trip to the local morgue.  The real hidden danger is the fact that caffeine is becoming so readily available in large, sometimes deceptively hidden amounts.

For example, consider  5150 Semi Sweet, a "concentrate" that is intended to be added to other drinks. According to the death by caffeine web site, if my 13-year-old son downed 6 of these four-ounce bottles (that is, a 24-ounce total, which is not even the largest cup from your local convenience store), he would suffer the same fate as the guy mentioned above. I'm not sure of the cost of the 5150, but I could easily see this as either a prank or a dare gone horribly wrong. Oh, and the cost of the caffeine powder the guy mentioned above took? About $5.26. Death comes cheap, it seems.

Anyway, the point is this: be wary of the dangers of caffeine, and especially make sure your kids (if you have any) are aware of them, too. Better to be considered a wimp than to submit to the pressure of a dare only to end up an example of how stupid it was to do so.