MummyWrap fends off radiation from fetuses

As the ongoing battle between the naysayers and the paranoid continues, Neil Bullock is making sure that those situated squarely in the latter camp have a way to "protect" their unborn child(ren). MummyWrap is a "sleeveless, loose-fitting garment for pregnant women made from a light-weight copper-based cotton fabric known as Swiss Shield," and according to its creator, it can "minimize the risk of electro-magnetic radiation (EMR)" warping your kid's brain before he or she ever sees the world. 'Course, we're not going to step in and suggest that you do / don't need this, but for those who'd rather be safe than sorry, you can order one now for $69.95. As an added bonus, it should go great with your Isabodywear underwear.

[Via Textually]

[Twitchy @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:23AM]

Does it come with a matching hat to stop the CIA from stealing my brainwaves?

[mushrooshi @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:24AM]

guinea pigs are kawaii

[ark_v2 @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:38AM]

OH.MY.GOD.
What comes next? Copper blankets?!

[engadget @ Oct 2nd 2007 9:49AM]

hmm I wonder how much I could sell those for...

Runs off to find a manufacture.

[creamandchives @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:52AM]

This isn't so silly, apparently mothers to be in China already take protection against electromagnetic radiation seriously - either stopping work soon after becoming pregnant, or wearing lined aprons to protect them while they work at a computer (I learnt this while on a business trip there last year).

It may seem like paranoia to some, but maybe they are just ahead of the rest of the world with this kind of precaution - the 1 child policy has lead to a high value being placed on every child - even before they are born.

Can anyone from China comment?

[bombastinator @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:44AM]

they're deluded.

First of all the planet earth (or at least us humans covering it) puts out enough EMR to be mistaken for the sun from outside the solar system. Unless they are wearing an all body bunny suit they are doing nothing. Even then anything conductive is as good as anything else. Much cheaper metals could be used just as easily.

Almost all cultures have some stupid scam or other. We have our share too. You know those "electrolytes" people advertise on sports drinks? It's better known as salt. Copper pain relieving bracelets? Hokum. People will believe what they will believe.

[alex @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:52AM]

Not sure about "high value being placed on every child." If you only have one shot in having a child in a nation without a social net I think more than likely you're going to be very gender specific in what you want, namely a boy.

[randy @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:54AM]

Best thing a sweet girl like that can do to protect her child from stupidity is to not run off with some fat ass dickhead redneck after a ridiculously handsome but relatively boring media professional has been courting her for a whole damn weekend

[Reader @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:18AM]

I don't think I understand this reference... best I can come up with is maybe Britney Spears?

[Juaquin @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:48PM]

@Reader
I think he was referring to a personal incident he recently experienced, but who knows.

[ScottW @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:56AM]

Is it just me or does that headline read like fetuses give off radiation? :P

[Bad Beaver @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:18AM]

Yap. It's a good thing they can finally do something to keep them hazardous fetus-rays inside the womb where they belong.

[Vincent @ Oct 2nd 2007 7:31AM]

Yeah, that's exactly what the title says. heh...I read the story expecting something else. *roll eyes*

[MikeC @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:12AM]

Just what I was thinking Scott.. it should have read something like "...helps fetuses fend off radiation." I hate those radioactive fetuses!!

[email4rudy @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:17AM]

Autism is considered the silent epidemic. Now with one in every 150 unborn babies diagnosed with this, whereas in 1983 it was 1 in every 10,000, I could understand why a product like this is made. Esp. since nobody really knows what's causing this.

[Adam Russell @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:01AM]

"Esp. since nobody really knows what's causing this."

Actually, there are many explanations for this supposed dramatic increase. Chief among them is that it is impossible to directly compare autism rates between these two time periods, because the definition of autism has broadened over time. Previously, only cases of classic autism were counted, while now such disorders as Asperger's syndrome fall into the fold.

[Joe @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:45PM]

There is also a very strong inverse relationship between the dramatic decline of diagnoses of mental retardation and increased diagnoses of autism.

[Ryan @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:23AM]

Couldn't such a fabric also be used to defend against the military's new riot control weapons that use microwaves to cause intense burning pain in the skin? I mean it's basically a faraday cage right? If so I can see a good "grey" market for these garments.

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 2nd 2007 7:29AM]

Probably not. At the end of the day, a Faraday cage is like a big, indiscriminate antenna. A passive one you wear dissipates the energy from the radio signals by sending it through your body to ground, which would be un-noticable for things like radio signals. If you kicked up the transmitter to physiologically-relevant levels, you'd probably get a truly spectacular "spoon-in-the-microwave" effect as the Faraday cage earthed in majestic electrical arcs.

[Cronick @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:51AM]

Isn't that a Faraday Cage?
And doesn't it need to be grounded in order to work?

[Julian Bond @ Oct 2nd 2007 3:36AM]

Does it set off airport X-Ray machines?

I want a wooly hat made of that stuff.

[Grant @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:10AM]

hey,
anyone wanna buy a bridge?

[jessy @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:51AM]

$70 for protection against radiation, not such a big deal... i know people who buy pants for that kind of $.

anyway, in this world where crazy rumors of cellphone and electronics and windmills ruining the magnetic field of the earth/causing cancer, perhaps this is just an early preventative step.

look how many people built bomb shelters in the 50-70's for the cold war, i really doubt that they could protect you, + i believe its hundreds(if not thousands) of years before radiation becomes inert?

fear sells products no doubt.

[Russ @ Oct 2nd 2007 5:41AM]

"minimize the risk of electro-magnetic radiation" - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_words

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 2nd 2007 7:29AM]

It's categorically bullshit, as demonstrated time and again by Proper Science. You'd think people would've cottoned on when the only "researchers" claiming background EMF is harmful these days are the people trying to sell you stuff. Alas, the modern metropolitan consumer would much rather hear about some pseudoscientific boogyman, and buy a gadget to protect themselves, than make serious changes to their diet and lifestyle, which are the cause of the majority of health problems in the Western world.

I'd also like to point out that Engadget's headline hilarious suggests that fetuses give off radiation, and the product protects mothers from their deadly cargo. That's a wonderful image.

[Ian H. @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:18AM]

I'm also enjoying the mental image of radioactive foetuses...

[Spiderpig @ Oct 2nd 2007 8:13AM]

Even if EMR was harmful, "protective gear" like that and tinfoil-hats can actually focus the radiation on certain points, thus enhancing the damage (if there was any).

[Chris @ Oct 2nd 2007 8:48AM]

What is interesting about this is the reversal (again) of what people feel about the effects of electromagnetic radiation. Michael Crichton's website has a great video/lecture that talks about unproven dangers and complex systems. When the public tries to understand complex systems, he observes in his research that, often times, public opinion shifts such that in one decade, certain things are good, the next they are bad, and then again, they are good.

We are supposedly in a "good" time for electromagnetic radiation with all the living with magnets advertisements all over the place. In the 80's everyone was afraid that power lines were causing cancer. Now, we can't get enough electromagnetic radiation.

Be right back... I am going to go sit with my back to the TV.

[Jesse S @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:04AM]

How would this work without lead?

[granny down east @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:58AM]

Nah, no thanks...I'll just stick with my tinfoil underpanties.

[yakpoof @ Dec 5th 2007 10:15AM]

they should install these at pedestrian crossings and fire them at any car that dares to cross the line when stopping at red lights. especially taxis.

i'm a pedestrian and i absolutely HATE cars that don't keep in line and run into the pedestrian crossing.