More Magic Bands -part 1

Like the hydra, if you cut off one arm, two shall takes it's place.  This is the case for the Power Balance bracelets.  They've been forced to admit to committing fraud in Australia, have been discredited on national television and their tactics have been exposed by numerous groups, including this great video by Brian Brushwood.

Power Balance bands "blend the powers of Eastern Philosophy and Western Science".  Their website no longer makes any actual claims to how this is done.  Instead, they only talk about the athletes and teams that use them.  A VERY weak argument from popularity to say the least.  Feel free to check out their website and let me know if you find any actual "Western Science" on it.

This is what they used to claim.

So.  Now that Power Balance bands are now selling for a fraction of their original cost on amazon you'd think that would be the end of the nonsense.

Wrong.  As I stated above, when one scam fails, others will swoop into the void to grab the remaining suckers.

Enter, Fusion Power Bandz and SuperBandz. I found these companies while visiting the expo for the 2011 Chicago Triathlon.  They both had modest boothes staffed by friendly sales people looking to help the athletes inprove their performance.

I visited the SuperBandz booth first.  one of the friendly representatives, "Jane", asked if I would like to see a demonstration of their product.  I said yes and she proceeded to use the exact same techniques that Brian Brushwood used in his Scam School video.  She also explained that the SuperBandz worked by replacing the bad positive ions in my body with good negative ions.  We get the positive ions from cell phones, microwaves and tv and radio signals in our day to day lives.
I told her that  I didn't believe the claims she was making (better balance, sleep, endurance, speed, strength, etc.).  I asked for any proof in terms of studies and research.  At this point "John" stepped in and sited a 1984 study done on autistic children.  I asked if this study was available and he said I could google it.  He added it was a "double blind study, the best kind of study you can do."  All very sciency sounding huh?
Problem is, the only reference to the study was in another study from 1987 stating that the 1984 study was poorly done and had no merit.
Most interestingly, The top google search was from the Hoof Care Clinic Facebook site!

We ended our conversation when he said I should test it out for myself by purchasing one of the bandz.  I declined.

Next up, Fusion Power Bandz.