But this improvement in product packaging regulation came at a steep price.

Seven people, including a 12 year old child, died unexpectedly in a series of events that what would later become known as the Chicago Tylenol murders.

The victims

At first it appeared that the victims had absolutely nothing in common: a 12-year-old in Elk Grove Village, a postal worker in Arlington Heights, a new mother of four in Winfield.

But then, just as the family members of postal worker Adam Janus gathered to grieve, 2 more deaths took place in the same house. Stanley Janus, the first victim’s brother, and his wife Theresa both collapsed in a matter of hours.

The plot of thickened as authorities quarantined the house, suspecting an unrelated health issue.

The unsolved mystery of the “Tylenol murders”

A public health nurse, Helen Jensen, is present at the scene of the 3 deaths in a row. She expresses her assumption that there must have been something “wrong” with the recently purchased bottle of Tylenol they discovered on site.

The receipt found for the bottle that had been purchased just that morning determined medical examiner Dr. Edmund Donoghue to pursue her theory.

Donoghue decides to look for the tell-tale signs of cyanide poisoning when examining the bodies.

What he discovers will send the entire nation into a state of panic!

Red skin, signs of erosion within the stomachs of all 3 victims, in an alkaline state.

And most conclusively: the smell of bitter almonds.

Final verdict: cyanide poisoning!

So how did cyanide even cross anyone’s mind?

Dr. Donoghue says that it was just of matter of “luck” that someone with the ability to smell cyanide was present at the scene. This ability is regarded as an inherited genetic trait, manifesting in only half of the population.

The pungent smell of bitter almonds was the missing piece of the puzzle! This detail led the hundreds of investigators looking into these 7 deaths to the final answer: all the victims had taken Tylenol contaminated with cyanide.

Cyanide blocks the body’s ability to use oxygen, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a poison that’s particularly damaging to the heart and brain.

It works very fast. In solid crystal form, cyanide can be lethal to humans even when ingesting a single gram.

Ultimately, public health nurse, Helen Jensen saved investigators a lot of time. By sniffing a Tylenol bottle, she helped link the 7 mysterious deaths to the random act of drug tampering that would revolutionize safety product packaging regulations.

“Tylenol” federal bill & new safety product packaging regulations

Following the Chicago “Tylenol” murders, the brand behind this very popular over-the-counter drug, Johnson & Johnson not only changed the packaging, but the pills too!

Maybe it doesn’t sound like much now, but at the time it was a crisis management move that created a Domino effect within the industry.

Johnson & Johnson switched from capsules to caplets, while also upgrading their containers, and advertised a triple-sealed Tylenol packaging. It included a box with glued flaps, a plastic ring around the neck and a foil seal; all of which are now industry standards for over-the-counter drugs.

The “Tylenol” murders also led to a change in federal law. The Federal Anti-Tampering Bill took legal effect in 1983. This bill made tampering with medication and other consumer goods a crime. The bill is still commonly known as the “Tylenol bill.”

The FDA followed suit, making it an FDA requirement for drugs to have tamper-proof packaging (blister packs, shrink wrap bottle covers and visible seals).

The FDA’s new over-the-counter packaging requirements also instructed manufacturers to clearly write on the label how a consumer can recognize if a bottle had been tampered with.

The tamper-proof features included breakable seals, blister packs or tape.

Johnson & Johnson’s crisis management becomes standard study-case in business school        

The story the public was told by the company, by the police, by the government and by the media followed a single plotline: a madman was responsible for the “Tylenol” murders.

Medical historian Dr. Howard Markel, a University of Michigan professor, calls it a never before seen turnaround; thanks to a top-notch crisis management team and a skillful PR campaign.

The immediate recall, where Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million bottles nationwide, after warning consumers to stop taking the drug, brought the company to the edge of disaster.

By cooperating with investigators and offering a $100,000 incentive for information that might help identify the perpetrator, Johnson and Johnson did some quick damage control with the general public.

J&J also tested 1.5 million Tylenol bottles and found three more unopened bottles laced with cyanide.

Collateral damage

1. The copycat murders that followed the mysterious 1982 Tylenol deaths.

– A New York victim of a cyanide laced Tylenol in 1986;

– A woman lacing Excedrin with cyanide, resulting in the death of her husband and a stranger in 1986;

– A Seattle man’s Sudafed cyanide contamination in 1991, having the intention of murdering his wife, but killing two strangers instead.

2. People still remember that the September 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders effectively ruined Halloween that year. Parents were scared of the reality that was consumer goods tampering. This making trick-or-treating a risky affair following the panic that set in that year.

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In the 21st century, it’s easy to see women in almost every sector of the economy. But this was not always so. In time past, society never believed that women should work in industries, and when they did, they usually worked on low paying ‘female jobs’. However, the 1940s saw a sudden rise in female workforce, especially in the United States. That period was the first time women worked in factories and were paid high wages like their male counterparts. But, this didn’t last. The sudden rise was to meet a need and as soon as that need was satisfied, women began to get laid off.

Curious to know what happened? The sudden rise in female workforce at that time was because of world war II. The war led to a mighty expansion of the war industry, consequently, there were more vacancies than the males could fill up. As a result of this, the government began encouraging women to get into the workforce. They facilitated this through a campaign led by a woman called Rosie the Riveter. The campaign was tagged ‘we can do it’. It wasn’t long after the campaign started that women began taking up positions in male dominated industries. It was crazy. Both educated and uneducated women were employed and taught how to operate machines or perform specified duties. Nearly everyone who wanted to work had the opportunity to. History has it that even married women and mothers of little children weren’t left out. (By the time the war ended, women were one-third of the entire workforce in USA).

As one would expect, some men weren’t willing to allow their wives to work, probably because they were afraid that some of those jobs were too dangerous, and there was the fear of sexual harassment. But, there was strict guidelines passed over to male bosses on how female workers ought to be dealt with, so the aforementioned problems weren’t as prevalent as they are today. The sad part is, after the war, most of the women were laid off. Those who didn’t lose their jobs were moved to lower positions where they were paid peanuts compared to what men were receiving. This state of work discrimination against women continued to the later part of the 19th century. It was in the 20th century that women began to rise in the business world. Today, there are probably about the same number of female CEOs as there are male CEOs.

There is no telling exactly what the future holds, but predictions can be made. Judging from the way the industrial world is moving, there may never be any time in future where women would be discriminated against. In fact, many studies show that the gig economy is becoming a better option among college students, which mean we would be having more of individuals working from the comfort of their homes than from the same corporate building. The result of this is that, issues like sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace would soon be forgotten.

The post Why The 1940’s Saw A Sudden Rise In Female Workers appeared first on Online Storiez.

Most people are scared of death.
A lot of us don’t show it, but on the death bed, during the time people are about transiting to the other side of life, you will see fear clearly spelled out on their faces. Of course, not everyone, but a majority of persons. Especially those who regret not taking advantage of opportunities when they came. No one can say for sure if people grieve after taking their last breath, but we do know that family and friends on earth grief their lives out. When people are bereaved, they are supposed to be comforted by other friends and family, but it’s quite unfortunate that people tend to take advantage of human emotions and squeeze out cash from those who mourn. This is fast becoming a norm in the capitalist driven world, where prices can go up at any time. Below are the major ways bereaved family members are scammed during their mourning season.

The first is embalming. Raise your hands if you believe embalming is compulsory. Many people think it is, but there is nowhere in the law where it is stated that embalming is a must. Chemically preserving a body is only necessary when you need to transport the body for a long distance or when you desire to postpone the burial. Some people believe embalming protects public health, but a dead body does not pose as much threat to the public as a living person. In fact, the only thing relating to the public is the fact that the embalmers are at risk of getting infected by toxic chemicals used in the embalming process.

Next up is the use of caskets. Except you are about having a grand celebration, an average casket will be okay. Protective or sealed caskets do not make much difference, because dead bodies still rot in airtight conditions. Also, the only difference between metal and wood caskets is the way they were made and the beauty they emit. Nothing more. If you have the money and wish to make the burial ceremony glamorous, then go for fancy caskets, otherwise, even rentals will do the job.

Last is the myth about funeral homes. The truth is, you don’t need a funeral home. They are only an option, and you can choose to reduce their involvement to the barest minimum. If you want, you can bury the dead in your home, family burial site, or use natural burial sites where you lay the body in the dirt and let it serve as tree food. In a bid to make you patronize them, some burial homes will tell you certain things are illegal when in reality, they are not. Do not let anyone prey on your ignorance, it’s advisable to get some knowledge about the stand of the law concerning burial – because, after all is said and done, we are all going to lose a loved one someday – you can do this by reading blog posts online, following YouTube channels like Ask A Mortician or seeking professional advice.

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Imagine you are in a terrible situation, and the next 5 minutes will determine your fate. If you aren’t tired with life, you will surely find a way to save your life, right? It’s the same thing with being trapped in a building with an active shooter. Studies show that it takes the police an average of 5 minutes to arrive any crime scene. That’s about how long it will take for your fate to be decided if a crazy active shooter invades your home, school, office, or any other building you find yourself.

However, you don’t have to panic about this. There are certain steps you can take to prevent yourself from getting hurt (or at most, from dying). They teach this a lot in self defense schools, but the masses seldom know about these safety tips. This is the major reason why over 40,000 people died in 2017 from the bullets of active shooters. That’s not all, in 2018 – just recently – about 113 school children were killed by active shooters. These aren’t statistics from the East, these things happened in America. It therefore goes without saying that there is a grave need for people to upgrade their self defense skills. The old duck-and-cover system simply doesn’t work anymore.

Thankfully, a twitter user, “V”, took on to twitter to share some of the active shooter lessons she learnt from work. She started the thread like this:
“I received active shooter training at work today that I feel will save my life in the unfortunate (and likely) event that someone will open fire in public so I’m gonna share my takeaways. Some stuff is obvious, the rest might not be,” The thread went on to become very popular, and obviously, helpful but some persons had a problem with the “likely” she used in her opening paragraph. V took her time to explain the reasons behind her choice of the word. Leveraging upon the recent active shooter statistics, including the unbelievable number of victims in recent times, V was able to convince the followers of the thread that their chances of being in an active shooter situation was high. That being said, she proceeded to sharing the key points she’d learnt from her active shooter training. She called them the “ABC’S to remember in an active shooter scenario”. They are:
A- Avoid
B- Barricade
C- Counter
S- Survive

Most of the points seem like common sense that everybody should know without being told, but, it’s hard to try to focus and think properly when in a panic situation, however, knowing what to do before that time comes, will help you swing into action almost subconsciously. The first point – Avoid – literally means to exit the scene (if you can, and) as soon as possible. But if you are in a situation where escape isn’t possible, look for a way to create a barricade. On this second point, V stressed that people shouldn’t hide under chairs and tables, because those are the places active shooters would expect you to be. She noted that, if possible, the individual should sneak up on the wall behind the door – and shut the door, barricading it with any available tool. If it happens that the barricade didn’t work out as planned, you will have to brace up yourself to attack the enemy. If you are not a fighter, that’s okay, you still have hope. You can do silly things like throwing papers at the shooter. Here, you are at an advantage because, one, you are not where the shooter is expecting you to be, and two, the room is dark, but you know where the shooter is (assuming you already switched off the lights – which you should). If you are a fighter, cool. Use your advantage of sight to attack the shooter. Most shooters use short guns because they are easy to conceal. Go for the barrel of the gun. If you are wise, move it’s barrel away from you. The shooter may shoot, but this would be to your advantage, because, with what you did, the gun would have to be fixed before he (or she) can shoot again. Use this time to hit your attacker badly. Active shooters are likely to have second weapons, so you have to be both fast and efficient. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t go for the muzzle of the gun, because…you will get shot. Lastly, survive. If in any case, the attacker wounds you, do not stay there and pity yourself or say your last prayers, try to escape, because being shot is sometimes a far cry from dying.

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Nearly everyone that gets married will at some point in their lifetime expect to get children, but, that’s about where the similarity ends. People have different views and perspectives when it comes to getting children and rearing them. Some want only particular sex – especially those in Africa and the Middle East. Others want a combination of both and will go as far as adopting to get what they want. Then there is the number of kids. This varies widely, except in regions where the government autonomously impose a specific limit to childbearing. In places where there are no rules to childbearing, people tend to give birth to as many (or as little kids as they want). And in very few cases, kids come by ‘mistake’.

But, it doesn’t really matter how the kids come. So far they are in this world, ‘somebody gotta train them’. There have been many arguments bordering around how kids ought to be trained, but the truth still remains that there is no particular way of training kids. Recently, a Tumblr user started a conversation about how parents shouldn’t expect their kids to grow up as mini versions of themselves. According to her, kids will eventually find their paths in life as they grow up, there is no point trying to make them into who you want them to be because they come as unique individuals with very different personalities – these personalities will begin to show up as they grow. It was obvious, from the multiple responses, that people bought into that idea. There were different contributions from parents and wannabe parents, and even from grown-ups who had had their fair share of parental training while growing up. One of the comments that really stood out (because it aligned with the topic) was from a lady whose handle was ‘floral-and-fine’. According to her testimony, she was lucky to have parents who didn’t force her into anything. Her parents only supported whatever path she decided to follow in life. For instance, she is an artist, but she wasn’t forced into art. Albeit, her parents supported her career choice. She even reiterated that her dad usually try to participate in her artwork. Not that he loved art so much, he was just being a supportive dad. One more point she noted bordered around her middle name – Cristina – she said her mother purposely removed the ‘H’ from the name because she wasn’t sure her daughter would love to have Christ in her name. For all she knew, her daughter could grow up to become an atheist.

Cristina’s story drives home a very important point – parents should not choose the destinies of their children for them, but support them in whatever they do. But again, this idea won’t be accepted by most philosophers and religious people. Because studies have shown that parents can influence the paths children choose in life and that children can (as a result of external influences) choose paths that are not right for them. Paths that are not, in actual sense, their destinies.

In conclusion, it’s vital for every parent to have a value system that guide him or her. With a strong value system, you won’t be dissuaded by the opinions of others, but you will train your child the best way you know and (hopefully) in the end, you will be glad you did.

The post Why Parents Shouldn’t Expect Their Children to be Like Them appeared first on Online Storiez.

‘Dirty John’ is a godsend for all true crime lovers. Based on a real-life tale and characters, the new Netflix original show tells a story about a disastrous love affair between a successful Orange County divorcee Debra Newell and an ex-con, lifelong conman John Meehan who was addicted to opioids. This shocking story has all the components of a satisfying true crime series – psychopathic mind games, sex, family drama, lies, clash with the law enforcement, violence and a shocking yet happy ending where the good guys win.

Eric Bana and Connie Britton delivered an amazing performance; Britton received Golden Globes nominations for her portrayal of Debra Newell. Watch the video above to listen to Eric Bana talk about what it was like playing the psychopathic villain.

If you are fiending for more juicy details around this worse-than-fiction story, we got you. We have summarized additional facts about the destructive life and death of Meehan. SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the show yet, many of the truths we share here will give away the plot/ending!

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Jeff Bezos, the richest man on earth, had some scandalous accusations to share on Medium against American Media Inc. (A.M.I.) which owns The National Enquirer.

How did it all start?

To understand this legal drama, we first have to go to the beginning of January this year. Soon after the announcement of Bezos’ divorce from his wife of MacKenzie, NE ‘ published an investigative article about Jeff Bezos’ alleged extramarital affair with a former host on Fox Lauren Sanchez. Read the full article here. The original article included quotes, messages, and tales of hotel rendezvous between the two lovers.

What did The National Enquirer want from Jeff Bezos?

After NE’s expose about his affairs, Bezos launched his own investigation into how NE was able to obtain his private messages and what their motive might have been. When David Pecker found out, he reached out to Bezos with a threat.

Bezos claims that Pecker threatened to leak intimate pictures of Bezos’ private parts if he did not stop his investigation and publicly affirm that NE’s expose was not politically motivated.

However, Jeff Bezos did not back down. He said, “Of course I don’t want personal photos published, but I also won’t participate in their well-known practice of blackmail…”

Then Bezos announced that he’ll make public the letters American Media Inc. (A.M.I.) had sent him about their ‘proposal.’

Was The National Enquirer politically motivated?

The National Enquirer was recently in the spotlight due to the revelations about their role in the campaign finance prosecution related to President Trump and Michael Cohen (hush payments to the women). The publication narrowly escaped massive legal troubles by agreeing to cooperate with the federal prosecutors.

It is well-known that President Trump and the media company are close. And President Trump has not been quiet about his hatred towards Bezos. He has tweeted many insults targeting Bezos mainly due to the negative coverage of him by The Washington Post, which Bezos owns.

So naturally, there are speculations about NE’s motivations especially since it rarely targets tech executives for their tabloid. Was it to embarrass President Trump’s enemy? Did they use illegal methods to obtain those private messages? These are the questions Bezos’ investigation is exploring.

The agreement A.M.I. had with the federal authorities stipulates that the company will be subject to prosecution if it commits any crimes over the next 3 years. Thus, if A.M.I. had used illegal means to obtain the messages and photos of Mr. Bezos, it will be in big trouble. In addition, a blackmail charge will also put them in serious legal jeopardy.

How did A.M.I. respond to Bezos’ accusations?

David Pecker’s attorney, Elkan Abramowitz, denied Bezos’ claims in the ABC News interview. Abramowitz also insisted that the story was not extortion but journalism. The source of the affair story, he claimed, came from a reliable source close to both Bezos and Sanchez.

He reaffirmed that Bezos’ claims that A.M.I. was trying to curry favor with the White House and Saudi Arabia were absolutely false.

Currently, federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reviewing the allegations.

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The result, as captured in the video, was stunning. Many strangers delivered a standing-ovation worthy speech to the bullies. The young actress who played the victim, Jillian, actually grew up with Tourette and has personally experienced this type of bullying.

It was hard to watch the bullies mocking and verbally assaulting a helpless kid. Many kind Samaritans got very upset; in fact, one of them even started tearing up. They all tried to educate the bullies about sympathy towards other human beings and Tourette’s.

When the bullies called her weird, one stranger responded, “We’re all weird. We’re human beings. Don’t make fun of her.” Jillian found this to be such kind, amazing words. The same man also told the bullies, “I don’t like it when people bully people or demean them for something they are not educated about.”

Some gently advised the bullies to learn about the condition. All of them sternly told the bullies to leave Jillian alone and tried to comfort Jillian.

This video was similar to the Burger King commercial/anti-bullying PSA back in 2017. In that commercial, however, most customers remained silent. So the Burger employees tried to teach those customers a lesson using their Whoppers.

What is Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette syndrome is a lifelong neurological disorder, which most often begins between the ages of 2 and 21. Not all who have this condition swear involuntarily. Only about 10% does. About 1 in 162 children (0.6%) have diagnosed or undiagnosed Tourette. In addition, most children diagnosed with Tourette reportedly also have at least one other mental or developmental disorder.

How Bad is Bullying in the US?

A kid gets bullied every 7 minutes in the US. And only 4 in 100 adults will intervene. According to a CDC report, 19% of high schoolers were recently bullied on school property and 14% have been cyber-bullied.

Besides the psychological and physical toll on the victims, bullying has profound impact on socioeconomic construct. Studies show that both bullies and bullying victims are more likely to experience poverty and professional failure their adulthood. They are also more likely to commit crimes and suffer from substance addictions.

Louisiana ranked #1 as the state with the worst bullying problems, followed by Arkansas and Missouri. See the full list here.

How Do We Stop Bullying?

Adults can reduce bullying by responding consistently and quickly when they witness such acts in their community. In fact, this is the only way to eliminate bullying behavior long-term.

Some suggestions for what to do when you see youth bullying:

• Question the bullying behavior
• Redirect the conversation using humor
• Take a walk with the target of bullying to help diffuse the situation
• Intervene as a group with other bystanders
• Reach out to the victim privately later to check in

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