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Traveling medicine shows and questionable or even harmful "medical remedies" may seem like a thing of the past, but there's plenty of its 21st-century iterations.

While MLM marketers are not promoting tonics of cocaine or opium, they are trying to convince people that essential oils will cure cancer.

Obvious pyramid-scheme nonsense aside, plenty of people on social media for some reason think of themselves as doctors and spread ignorance to whoever will listen. Just don't let all that BS seep into your brain. Instead, try to laugh at their ignorance; it can be quite funny!

Just scroll through the Twitter account Bad Medical Takes. It shares user-submitted screenshots of some of the most ridiculous misconceptions "online health professionals" have to offer. Here are some of them!

General practitioner, medical researcher, and founder of PrimeHealth Clinical Research, Iris Gorfinkel, M.D., told Bored Panda that social media and the Internet are not a one-size-fits-all. "On the one hand, it improves patient education and can improve public health. It brings people together who are in very wide apart places, so it overcomes geographical barriers... It's a tremendous educational tool for patients," Gorfinkel said.

Yes, it promotes awareness and encourages patient engagement, and it can provide quality information. But at the same time, people are searching online for the next big thing. "So what is more likely to be shared?", the doctor asked metaphorically. What is novel, she immediately answered. Or what is unusual.

Gorfinkel also pointed out a study done in 2018, published in Science by three MIT scholars, which found that falsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than truth. It also discovered that it took the truth about six times as long as falsehood to reach 1,500 people. This proves that falsehoods are simply alluring.

But even if many of us know not to trust what uncle Bobby is saying about vaccines on his Facebook page (I hope), reading a scientific paper can be really challenging and time-consuming. "I think there are some websites that are fairly trusted," Gorfinkel said. "Medscape, for example, tries to bring information to people in their own language. It's not perfect, but it is available in German, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Then there's WebMD, MedlinePlusDrugs.com. There's a whole bunch of these websites that are actually quite good."

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For the so-called orphan conditions — diseases that are so rare, there isn't enough resources on them — Gorfinkel suggested Orpha.net.

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Helen Haley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least it was a polite way to inform you of their stupid. Makes it easier to avoid them.

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If you are still concerned about the validity of a certain piece, you will probably have to inspect it yourself.

What is to stop any doctor or professor from writing an opinion piece? Nothing, but this is where peer reviews come into play. "That's where other doctors and professors who have nothing to gain from what's published, look at the paper and say, 'Yes, this is actually true.' So look for things that are peer-reviewed, look for at least an editorial board. Again, that's a safeguard to prevent any one person's opinion from becoming a fact because peer reviews and editorial boards keep doctors in line in terms of making sure that what is said is accurate," Gorfinkel explained.

The sources that Gorfinkel mentioned earlier, like WebMD, publish some research studies that require huge funding. So looking at the funding source matters too — is there a conflict of interest?

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Of course, when a particular paper was written is important as well because, as Gorfinkel highlighted, what may have been relevant, say for COVID-19, even in 2020 is, for the most part, not relevant at all in 2021.

Generally, when you notice medical information online, it's probably best to approach it with caution. "If there is a promise of a miracle cure, that should ring alarm bells big time," Gorfinkel said. "A lot of complex problems, including depression, anxiety, hair loss, acne; a lot of these problems are actually complicated, and they don't have one single solution. This is especially true when things promise very quick answers, and often at a price."

It's always a good idea to run these ideas by either your family doctor or a pharmacist before investing in them.

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I I
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

really ? this has to be a troll , people are not this dumb are they?:?

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Doctor Gorfinkel also added a very important piece of information: the United States and Canada do not monitor natural products. "Whether or not it's made in trusted countries, understand that they generally will fall under a separate category that does not have to fulfill the requirements of standard drugs."

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This can become a problem because there's really nothing to stop natura-ceuticals and that includes the entire vitamin industry and the mineral industry. "There is no one to police what's in that stuff. And for the most part, there's no one there to pull it off the shelves," Gorfinkel explained.

"Moreover, these products tend to be some of the highest profit margin products available in stores. Often, they're placed right next to the normal pharmacy so that people can 'self-medicate.' But much of that has no evidence base whatsoever."

Because no one's watching, the potential for having these products adulterated with potentially toxic elements is very high. This is true for the probiotics industry as well as the prebiotics industry.

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I I
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

what do i get every year ? are they putting fresh trackers in my arm ? or magnets ?

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"I don't think people realize what's happening," Gorfinkel said. "There was a study done in the United States where they went into Walmart, and pulled off natura-ceuticals just off the shelf, and found that there was no correlation between what was on the label and what was actually in the bottle."

When experts checked probiotics in Toronto (this was the Department of Family Practice at the St. Michael's Hospital), they just took 12 random things off the shelf, gave them to the microbiology lab, and found the same: no correlation between what was promised to be in the bottle and what was actually in the bottle.

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"So if there are promises that sound too good to be true, bottom line, they probably are," Gorfinkel said. And this sadly applies to more than just online medical takes.

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qwerty
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Alright. I never liked PETA, to put it mildly. But I thought that even they would be above this udder bullshit.

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Ray Martin
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mine are the same length. Does this mean I'm a hermaphrodite? Cool, that explains why I'm always being told to go f**k myself.

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IzzieM
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ooops, it appears that I am also a genetic male. How dare my parents keep this from me.

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Suzanne Haigh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Their does seem to be a lot of us tonight who have ploughed through life thinking they are female only to find out via Tick Tock, we really are male. I had better inform my daughter. she was born to a man

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MiriPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So in reverse that means all men around me are genetic females, because none of them has a ring finger longer than their pointer finger 🤔?

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Johanna
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my. My ring- and pointerfinger have the same lenght. So im both Male and female? This is nice to know!

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Carson Casper
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMFG I HAVE A VAGINA?????? WHY AM I ALWAYS THE LAST ONE TO KNOW

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Kristin Ingersoll
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a BOY???????????????????? Holy shite. I need to rethink my entire existence!!

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qwerty
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fun fact: While reading this thread, you just compared your pointer and ring finger.

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Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

there is some truth to that: finger length ratio between the 2nd and 4th is affected by exposure to testosterone. The OP may not have grasped the whole thing, but it's not stupid like the other posts

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Nubis Knight
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He's not wrong completly: men most often have longer Ring Finger than pointer Finger due to hormonal milieu during pregnancies- there are studies on this. But that doesn't mean every woman with longer Ringfinger than printer Finger automatically is a genetic male.

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Got Myself 4 Dwarves
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my....This has just informed me I'm a dude....after 39 years of life and 4 children....

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iblowsheep
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WOW. Of all the ignorant gender arguments this dipshit went with finger length?

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Iggy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm glad to finally know why I've been growing a beard! 'Pointer fingers'! No wonder she doesn't know when to use 'then' or 'than'.

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panda123
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Men really are more likely than women to have shorter index fingers than ring fingers, but not always. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio

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Max
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My (left) ring finger is longer than my pointer finger, and I still had to transition to male. Very disappointed in my body right now. If only it had listened to my finger, it could have saved me a lot of hassle.

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Sofie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds me of something really interesting I read about what biologically makes a male or a female, that it's much much more complicated than you'd think. Wish I could find the source, but it said something like we're all a little bit of a mix, some more than others.

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Lex
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Guess that means I was actually born a male, andy body just decided it wanted to transform into a female body, and have all of the normal bodily functions that women have to experience. 🙄

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David carro
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Killian has not seen a woman in person in his whole life. All in cartoon format.

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Lisa Shelton
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh nooooo. I must be a genetic male then. How ever will I tell my children.

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Dorothy Parker
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have that. I'll have to see if my daughter has inherited it from me.

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Iris Engler
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What is if one hand has a longer pointer finger then ring finger and the other one is the opposit? What am I now? Confused

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Notorious DBT
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both of my ring fingers are longer than my pointer. Am I double male or do they cancel each other out? The truth is my pointer fingers are extra short as are my pinky toes. Makes doing CPR on babies difficult.

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Ancsuri
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a longer ring finger...so that makes me a man? My husband will be shocked

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Sarah
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Guess I'm a male then. Awfully unfair that I used to have periods.

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Layla Summers
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh wow, I'm a genetic male?? Awesome, now I can like women without being called a dy*e😎

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Yort
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There’s a whole bizarre right wing conspiracy sector that just thinks every famous person is biologically the opposite sex. The conspiracy is bipartisan, though, they’ve accused Melania Trump and Michelle Obama of being men.

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Billy Maguire
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And THAT is how we end up with boys using girls' locker rooms..

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Purr·maid
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ғᴏʀ ᴏɴᴇ, ʜᴇʀ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛᴇʀ ғɪɴɢᴇʀ ɪs ʙᴇɴᴛ sʟɪɢʜᴛʟʏ. sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅʟʏ, ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ 'ᴋɪʟʟɪᴀɴᴇᴅ' ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙʀᴀɪɴ ᴄᴇʟʟs.

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S.Y.L
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guess I'm a woman since my pointer is longer.

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Sang Fe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, after 2 son's, ovarian cancer and a hysterectomy...I discover I am actually a man 😮

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DarkLumiya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where it's true men have longer ring fingers than index fingers, this doesn't mean in any way that she is a biological male

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Chris Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a way to find out I've been misgendering myself ever since I was born

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Brian Bennett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm afraid something has happened to you in utero, but there is I know no cure!

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Jupittance
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not universal, but women tend to have a longer pointer finger than their ring finger, but only on their right hand. However, while there is a difference in the average digit ratio between men and women, the overlap of the curves is much greater than the difference. https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/snpwatch-a-tale-of-two-fingers/

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RoseTheMad
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

mine are exactly the same length. my middle finger is longer though, here, have a look Killian. 🖕

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kim morris
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It appears I am genetically male. How do I explain this to the sons I birthed??

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SlartyBlartFast
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hey Killian, I'm calling BS on your low-key claim that you measured the ring finger of every woman who ever lived, to come up with your statement. Prove me wrong!

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Eric Mesh
Community Member
2 years ago

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2nd digit to 4th digit ratios of finger length are altered by in uterine hormones, and are actually a statistically significant feature of the gay male population compare to the straight Male population (gay men having a ratio closer to 1) like women.

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debrina blackmoon
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So you're sharing a malformed "brain cell" with the other fucktards believing that kind of shitt. Or did it just socially distance itself, if you even had that(very doubtful)???

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matilda
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2 years ago

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I've seen some similar claims about Michelle Obama 🤣

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Leah Helbig
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2 years ago

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Thats actually true they are correcting that with surgery look it up. I dont think anyone fact checks anything. That was 1 way you could tell if a person was man or a women no matter what the outside looked like. But they are getting sneaky stay alert guys because that chick your with might really be a dude

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qwerty
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can just imagine this person at the doctor. "Doctor, I have a problem." "Oh, what is it?" "I keep getting my period." "How often does it happen?" "Every month! Can you believe it?" "Ok. So, we're going to refer you to the psychiatric ward."

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Chris Wade
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was this tweeted in 1860 or something? Cause, boy, have I got news for you, Andrea.

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Helen Haley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do incels post everywhere, or is there just an alarming number of them?

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qwerty
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't just a scientific error. It's also a mathematical error.

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Sonya Jersey
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wait until you find out that you can die from badly infected and untreated teeth

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Eslamala
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people should get sterilized as a favor to the rest of the world.

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tiari
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, at least this one is not *completely* wrong. He is just wrong about the amount of water needed for that, there is no risk with your normal everyday amount.

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Monday
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish the vaccine could be sexually transmitted...would be so much easier to vaccinate more people with a limited supply.

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Anyone-for-tea?
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WT absolute F? I feel sorry for her daughters having such a hateful, uninformed mother. And poor Taylor Swift, not that I think she would have seen this, but it reminds me of Ellen trying to shame her about her rumoured relationships, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

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I I
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yeah , no wonder people wont get the vaccine with these dumb tw@s out there

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mulk
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, because women have more DNA in common with princesses and unicorns

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earringnut
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's an unpopular opinion because most people have a post dark ages level of education.

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Sofie
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have brown eyes which is a darker colour which is strong like espresso, which means that I'm never ever sick. Well, starting now.

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