66: Death By Christmas Candle: What’s Really in Your Favorite Products? 43:41

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory. ♪

Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my study or, you know, just to my podcast, Dark History. Now,

Now this is a chance to tell a story like it is and honestly share the history of stuff you would never really think about, you know? I'm a curious cat. I want to know everything. I love learning. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and just let me ramble because you're going to learn something new. And isn't that fun? Let me start off with this because I learned a random fact the other day and I just need to share it because I don't know where it belongs. Okay, so crows. Crows.

Yes, crows. If you piss them off, they remember you pissing them off and they'll purposely like mess with you. And if they die, the crows, let's say they have a kid. Okay, let's do this.

This is what I do at night. Let's say that crow has a kid. Okay, and that crow dies. He hates you, remember? If that crow dies, there's something called chemical memory that kind of like passes on and then the new crow remembers that they hate you. This is actual factual information. Crows, if they hate you, they will mess with you and they also never forget. And that's...

Your fun fact for the day. Great. I just had to tell you because I was like, what? That's sick. Okay, let's get into today's story because today's story is going to ruin your day. So, you know, like when you go to Target or Starbucks or wherever you go, you're having a good day, you're in a good mood, and you're like, I'm going to treat myself, right? So you pick up your little iced maca frappa, you know, and then you walk over to the home section because they always got something. Oh.

Right? Something cute. Something with a little painting on it and you're like, ah, holidays. So you walk it around, you walk it around. And if you're in California,

something that you may come across that we all kind of ignore is a sign. There's a little white sign that says you are currently being exposed to cancer causing chemicals. It's very vague and honestly you're like, wait a minute, are we not going to talk about this? What do you mean? Like is there, should I leave? Is it too late? Is there cancer everywhere? Do I have cancer? Like

Huh? It's so confusing. If you go to Starbucks, you see it. If you go to HomeGoods, Target, blah, anywhere you go, they have these, I think they're called P65 warnings, California law. That's kind of scary, but then it gets scarier because guess how many chemicals are on the list? You're probably thinking like five, 10, 15, I don't know.

There's over 900 chemicals on this list. And all of these businesses, I mean, all they have to do is just tell you. They don't have to remove them.

which is an interesting law, right? So this isn't just a California thing. There's a California law that tells us like we have to have a sign warning us. But everywhere else, you guys got chemicals too. They're just not telling you. And this isn't like some weird conspiracy. No, this is like some real shit and it's very concerning. Okay, look, and we need to talk about it because question number one, what are we supposed to do? You know? What? What?

But not go to Target or Starbucks? I feel like that's doable, but you know, let's be realistic here. Convenience. But it doesn't end there because once you start noticing these signs and you start paying attention to it, they're literally everywhere. So what am I supposed to do? Just burn down my house? Because they're in your house right now. They're all over you. So naturally, I got to researching and I found out that these chemicals are most often found in an ingredient called fragrance.

If you're like me, the first thing you think about when you hear the word fragrance is perfume, right? You smell good. And I remember when I was younger, everyone was all about like the Bath and Body Works perfume or the Victoria's Secret.

saturating it, right? Because it felt like even if you couldn't afford the fancier things in life, you could always get your hands on some perfume. And it made you feel good. He smelled good. And most perfume is in like these really fancy bottles. They feel so luxe. And unfortunately, there's a shit ton of chemicals in them. You can't tell me that pink sugar perfume isn't a bunch of chemicals to make you smell like cotton candy, right? So like, how did we get here? How did we get here?

Well, one of the first known perfumers from 1200 BCE was a woman named Taputi. She lived in ancient Babylon and she worked for a king as like a professional perfumer, which was a legit title back then. Like this was their specialty. And she was very valued in the king's court because of her skills in making perfume. She made people smell like bomb. Kings and queens, they loved her.

She had a great reputation and she was used by many. Fragrance would end up making its way into religious ceremonies and just gave people more attention and more confidence. And it stayed like that for many centuries. I mean, back then, perfume wasn't just about smelling good or covering up the fact that you haven't washed your hair in like days, right? It was a very necessary but sacred thing.

Palaces would even have these giant rooms dedicated to documenting all the perfume scents they used, they made. I mean, it was detailed information. And then of course, smelling good back then also meant that you were of higher status.

Of course, right? Yeah, they had to separate themselves from the poor. And most importantly, it meant you were disease-free. Like if you smell good, you were clean. And if not, you were diseased and disgusting. Boo. Another use for perfume was actually medicine. And we know from our episode this season on mummies, perfumed oils were used for embalming purposes and also were a big part of religious ceremonies to the gods.

Praise God, you know? So until the 1930s, perfumes were strictly made from the things around us by Mother Nature herself. I'm talking, you know, the flowers, the spices, the trees. Go outside, capture it in a bottle. And perfumers would extract these scents by mixing them up different ways with natural oils and waxes, which would then preserve them. And also, fun fact,

Did you know that if you smell a very fragrant flower, like a rose when it's being bloomed, that means you're smelling sex. Yeah, you nasty. So the flower is, it's, I guess, horniness is the best way to say it because when it's ready to be pollinated by a bee, it's super fragrant. So it's like trying to lure in the bee, like, "Smell me, bee, smell me." So I don't know. It's just kind of like, no wonder we're attracted to flowers.

What's always the number one perfume you smell out there? It's always a floral scent. We still try to do this today with the florals. I can't stand it. I personally like the musky scents. I like to smell like I got lost in the woods and a lumberjack man saved me and like,

We rolled around in the leaves and stuff, you know? But then I learned that musky scents actually, it comes from a freaking deer. More specifically, quote, a hairy pouch just the size of a golf ball in front of the penis. That's how they get the scent from that. So I like musky.

Deer balls, I guess? So I guess that hair pouch is actually a gland inside the deer, and on its own, it smells pretty gross. But people say it has a sharp urine scent, and if you combine it with ethanol over a few months or sometimes years, it starts to smell pretty okay. Pretty decent, I guess. It's almost like an aphrodisiac. Like, oh yeah, you like that?

You know that deer dick smell? Hot. I like it. I think it smells good. Anyway, now we've been into deer dick since the 6th century. Greek explorers brought it to Greece from India, but the Arabic people were the ones who actually perfected it. Researchers know the path it has taken to get to us, but no history book remembers who the very first person was to

I don't know, figure out that the ball sack smelled good. Like that, you know, I wanna know about that guy. What was that guy doing? I got some questions, but no answers. Millions of people into deer balls. We love that. Okay, I just wanted to make myself comfortable if you're watching this over on YouTube. This chair's not comfortable.

Okay, anyways, back to the story. So deer balls, deer balls are just the tip of this stinkberg. Another famous fragrance is called civet. And this is used in perfume because like in small amounts, it makes the fragrance smell velvety and radiant, which I know I was like, velvety, how do you, what does velvety smell like?

and radiant, I don't know, but that's what they claim. It also is considered by millions to be an aphrodisiac, meaning, you know, it gets you in the mood for the rockin' and rollin'. One day I'm gonna figure out what the hell I'm doing over here in this chair. So if you wanna get some of this civet, you need to find a special kind of cat-like animal.

You gotta trap it in the cage, and then once the civet cat is in the cage, taunt the animal with a stick so it bites. Then, I guess they would open the back of the cage, and you can collect the civet oil from a gland on the outside of its body near its taint. I know, it's always in the taint.

But back then, a lot of hunters, they would just kill the animals and harvest the oil so they didn't have to fight them. Many of the hunters did this. It was just easier. And I'm just saying that lightly because it's like nowadays it's inappropriate. But back then it was like they're normal. And that's how they figured it out. I don't know, again, how they were getting this taint smell. Like how'd they figure it out? That's the missing piece I wanted answers to. But we couldn't get any answers. Yeah.

Who was sniffing balls? Most of you probably know Chanel No. 5, a very iconic fragrance. Yes, most likely there's cat taint in that. Now there are a bunch of other gross example animal stuff in fragrances, but I think we get the point. But it wasn't until the mid-1900s in America when fragrance went from being this luxury beauty

Beautiful. I don't know, it was like such a powerful thing and then it just turned into this dangerous fucking... This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

This is an ad by BetterHelp. What?

What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to make time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow.

Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash DarkHistory today to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash dark history. For sponsoring this episode. So there's a lot of advancements in the world of chemicals. People figured out how to make perfume that would last way longer on the skin than the actual natural stuff.

And the longer it lasts on the skin, you know, the longer you'd be smelling, smelling sexy. And the other benefit to that, you don't have to spend as much money because a bottle of this stuff is just going to last you a lot longer.

So instead of relying on animal juices, something called synthetic fragrances became available to the market. Now these chemicals are the copycats of the real thing from Mother Nature. So you don't have to be rubbing your wrist with a lavender nub all day, you could just spritz

and smell like fresh lavender all day long. But we all know that for every nice little convenience, there's always a price to pay. You know, you want your laundry to smell like spring meadow, whatever the hell that is. You know, there's a price for that. And you're probably thinking, well, what's the price? Not just money. We're paying with our hormones, not dollars. What? I know you might ask. Oh! Well...

Let me explain. That's why you're here, aren't you? So a lot of people, when they hear the word hormones, they tend to think like,

I don't know, like when you're a teen, like an immature boy, like, oh, you're just on your period. Your hormones are out of control, you know? And it's like, that's actually, no, that ain't it. A lot of people have no idea that hormones are very important for adults as well, just functioning with your everyday. Hormones, they call the shots by telling our body what to do and when to do it.

Hormones affect everything from blood pressure, growth and fertility, your sex drive, your metabolism, and even your sleep. Also for women, like when to ovulate, or for men, when to produce sperm, when to grow your hair and where to grow it. They factor into our temperament and our skin.

But even though this is science, a lot of men still think that hormones are just like a woman thing, but nay nay, it's an everyone thing. I mean when you really think about it, hormones don't get enough credit. They're keeping everything going baby, okay? But here's the thing, our

Our bodies can't tell the difference between a naturally occurring hormone and something synthetic that was created in a lab, like chemical perfume. Your skin is your largest organ, so if you're putting chemical perfume on your skin, guess what? It gets sucked right in and goes right into your bloodstream. And that, my friends, can cause

Total chaos. Particularly on our endocrine system. The endocrine system is the part of your body responsible for regulating your thyroid, your adrenal glands, your pancreas, and your sex organs, like your balls and ovaries. And all of these can be affected by chemicals called EDCs, or

Endocrine disrupting chemicals. Let me tell you this, you do not want your endocrine system disrupted. So I'm gonna call these chemicals EDCs, okay? So when I say EDC, just remember it's a bad chemical that we do not want. Now, EDC is just an umbrella term for all of those synthetic chemicals that are typically in perfume.

So these EDCs, what they do is they throw everything out of whack by interfering with both your hormone production and the release of hormones in your body. This can lead to even bigger issues like cancer, respiratory issues, weakened immune systems, endometriosis and infertility. And that's just a few.

And this is proven fact, like this isn't some kind of like, you know, a mystery. Like they know what it does. So yeah, even small amounts of EDCs can have lasting impacts, especially when you're exposed to them constantly. Now, a perfect example of this was actually found in nature. There's this doctor, his name's Dr. Louis Gallet. He's a, I know, I was thinking the Razors too. He's not related, I guess.

Anyways, Dr. Louis Galette, who's a reproductive endocrinologist, was studying the reproductive rate of alligators at Lake Apopka in Florida.

My tongue is getting tied today. So over time, this doctor, he's noticing that only 10% of the alligator's eggs were being fertilized and hatched. Now, usually for healthy alligators, this number is a lot closer to about 90%. So I mean, that's a big drop, right? So Dr. Lewis is scratching his head. He's like, what the hell's going on here? But then he discovered the reason.

You see, there was a nearby fragrance factory and they were dumping their chemical waste into the lake and all of the EDCs and chemicals are going into the lake with it, right? In the waters. So the alligators are just marinating in it, just cooking in it. And over time, this had resulted in the alligators only having 10% of the alligator babies they should. Yeah, sad for them, but I mean...

Shut up, Bailey. I was gonna say we can probably do without alligators, but you know, that's rude. I don't want to upset the alligator community and have them come after me. I don't need that. I love you alligators. Just do your thing. I respect you. But this Gillette guy, he has a light bulb moment and he is like, if this is happening to the alligators, I wonder if this is happening to people, right? What if the same logic applies to humans?

And this seemed to make a lot of sense because a study had just come out showing that from the year 1973 to 2011, the average male sperm count had fallen by more than 50%. 50%! Now, I'm no scientist, but if it continues at that rate, I guess it would like make sense that by the year 2043, there will be no sperm count.

Crickets, I know. And then I was thinking again, like, "Meh, is that a bad thing?" You know? World's ending anyways, whatever.

But that's not what we're talking about right now. We're talking about sperm. And the sperm counts over the years, they just keep getting lower and lower and nobody's putting these pieces together except for this Dr. Gillette guy. The scientific community finally realized the serious threat of human exposure to EDCs and they realized there are two big EDCs that people should really look out for.

I mean they're all bad. Phthalates and BPAs. These are their two big daddies. These EDCs are linked to diabetes, liver disease, early miscarriages, and can even impact brain development in children. And some researchers believe exposure to this stuff when you're really young can lead to all sorts of disease that don't or won't show up until way later in life.

We're so fucked. Now ethylate is the chemical that makes a perfume last all day. So we love that, right? Because I like smelling good all day. So if you've ever walked into an elevator and it's empty, but then like,

You could still smell someone's cologne. Yeah, you're breathing in that chemical phthalate. I feel so bad for the people who work at Bath and Body Works. If you work there, you need to run, baby. Run. Okay? Don't come after me, Bath and Body Works. BPAs you've probably heard of, especially if you're in the market for like a reusable water bottle or you're shopping for really anything that's plastic. Most of it, especially in California, now has to be BPA-free. So that's nice, but what about...

you know, everybody else, you know? Yeah. But there are more than 17,000 different perfumes and fragrances made out of 4,000 synthetic chemicals and the majority of them contain phthalates. Now, here's the tricky thing. You will not see phthalates on an ingredient label because companies are not required to list them. What?

What? Nothing is safe? No, nothing is safe. Companies don't want to tell you how they make their trademark scent. It's considered a trade secret. So if you come out with like some kind of fragrance, you don't have to say what it is because it's a trade secret and you don't want to give it away because then everybody will have your scent and your scent's a trade secret.

Do you get what I'm saying? You get what I'm saying. I know you're smart. Thank you. So a lot of times you'll just see the word fragrance or perfume on an ingredient list. And that word alone can hide hundreds of chemicals. It's one big fat loophole. It's disturbing. It's terrifying. It's sad.

And America just loves a loophole, right? There are no requirements on any level, state or federal, that say fragrance ingredients need to be disclosed. And there is no law or organization that says they need to prove

like what they're putting in this stuff is actually safe. What I'm getting at or what I learned is that no one, nobody is regulating the fragrance industry. Nobody. That sentence alone should like be kind of concerning to us, right? It's just the wild west out here. I mean, they literally could be putting anything in there.

We don't know and we'll never know. I mean, let's just go back to the fucking deer taints and stuff. Who's with me? At least it was safe. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere. And the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Dark History today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Dark History. Now let's get back to the story. So guys, this next part pains me to tell you...

But, you know, I gotta say it. I know you love your candles. I know, I love them too. I really do. Especially those fall inspired ones. Let me tell you, mahogany teak wood smells like a sexy man. I love that one. Bath and Body Works. And also winter. Oh, I love winter. That one...

Yeah, look, listen, they're killing us. They're bad for us. It's real bad, okay? Now, there might be a reason why you're getting those headaches, okay? At least I do. I get really sick from candles and it always had me thinking like, how come nobody else gets sick from them? Is it just me? I can only light them for a short amount of time and then I have to blow them out because I get a freaking migraine.

So I just thought like, "Ugh, I don't have that white girl gene. I'm missing half of it or something." Turns out if you Google this information, guess what? When you burn a candle, you're creating something called indoor air pollution. This can be toxic, especially if the candle wax is made out of petroleum, like paraffin waxes. And the chemicals you're inhaling are the same ones that are found in like a fuel exhaust. So you're just hooking your... It's like, what's that movie, "Midsommar," remember?

the fuel exhaust to the face. Oh fuck. Yeah, it's like that. Anyway, so this, these chemicals you're inhaling, they can cause allergies, asthma attacks, skin problems, headaches, all that. Yeah, I know. We need a minute. We need a minute of silence for all the candles.

This is so disappointing, right? I know. But like, I stink. My house stinks. I don't want it to stink. Bring in the deers? I don't know. Look, there's this guy, his name's Andrew Sled. He's a doctor, a really smart doctor, who specializes in environmental toxicology. He said that burning a candle for one hour is like smoking a single cigarette. I know, and my follow-up question was like, what kind though? Are we talking American spirits?

Marlboro Reds, camels, like, come on.

Mr. Sled, gotta be a little bit more specific. How, which kind? I mean, yes, bad, right? Bad. You might as well smoke. I don't think you should, but you know. Okay, anyways. And it's not only harming you, it's also harming your pets. Mm-hmm. I have some bad news. When you burn a scented candle, you are potentially putting your pets at risk. They're inhaling the chemicals just like you are. And when they breathe in certain types of scented candles or perfumes, it can actually cause...

them to have coughing, give them stomach problems, skin problems. It's so sad and they can't tell you, you know? Poor babies. Now, some companies are actively trying to get rid of EDCs in their products. I mean, so they say. But as we know, there's no law saying that they absolutely have to.

And some companies are doing something extremely shady and putting on their labels phthalate-free without actually removing any of the phthalates. Go ahead, try and take a guess who was doing that nonsense. I'll wait.

If you guessed Johnson & Johnson, gold star, Henry! I mean, this shouldn't surprise any of us after the things we learned about them, huh? So yeah, Johnson & Johnson, they rolled out a line of baby products that claimed to be phthalate-free. But in one study, when a lab tested 17 of these Johnson & Johnson products, all 17 of them came back positive for phthalates.

Well, fuck me in the ass and call me Romeo. But it's not just Johnson & Johnson, 'cause 72 different body products were also tested for phthalates in that same study. And most of them fricking had the chemical despite being advertised as phthalate-free.

Lord help us. Now, I know there's a lot of new words and info being tossed around here. I'm tossing your salad. So if you're like me, you're probably wondering like, okay, that's great, but how does this really affect us? Like, if I'm someone who doesn't want to have kids, are these hormone-destroying chemicals really that bad? Kind of doing me a favor? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Yes, it is, Barbara. Get it together. A lot of this information is still pretty new, so we won't know for a while what the full impact of EDCs are on our health, but so far they've been linked to many, many things. Asthma, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, brain issues, behavioral issues, autism, cancer, fucking...

All of it. Okay, so, and we're like the test dummies here. Jesus. We're gonna find out. Buckle in. But the big smoking gun here is that medical research from the National Institute of Health links EDCs,

directly with cases of breast cancer. I can't make assumptions here because what the fuck do I know? But there's a study that came out saying that one in eight women will develop breast cancer. And it's like, you know, why? It's scary. And like, there's no way, like we talked about in the Johnson & Johnson episode, there's no way to really track like where the cancer came from, you know? So it's like, fuck.

Ugh. Stories about cancer spreading hit really close to home for a woman named Emily Holden. So this woman, Emily, she's an environmental reporter living in Washington, DC. And because of her job, she's been in the thick of this like toxic chemical crisis that we've been talking about.

So she's been meeting people, interviewing them, trying to talk with big companies, just getting involved. And she noticed more and more experts sounding the alarm about how Americans are exposed to toxic chemicals. I mean, just by living our lives and going about our day. And then one day, Emily was like, you know, wait a minute, what about me and where I come from? And this got her thinking about her and

her own family. Emily grew up in the southern part of Louisiana and it wasn't all like Mardi Gras and titties down there, okay? Emily grew up in an area known by the locals. So it was known by the locals as Cancer Alley. Oh, God.

Yeah, it's a whole region of the country where people were getting sick from cancer. And like it was just kind of another normal part of their lives. And at one point, Emily got together with her parents to count the number of people in her family that had died from cancer. They got to the number eight and just stopped counting. So Emily began looking around like where she grew up, what's going on.

Not far from her hometown where all those family members got cancer, there are a ton of companies that own factories and industrial sites. In one of them, they're known as a petrochemical company, which is essentially a fancy way to say oil company. Now I hear you, I hear you, you're yelling at me, you're like, this is too much, whatever. You know, I know, I get it.

Why are we talking about oil companies now? But the reason I bring oil companies up is because a ton of phthalates come from oil companies. And when they make their products, their factories blast polluted air into the nearby neighborhoods. Because of the toxic air, one town near New Orleans has a cancer rate that is 50 times

the national average 50 times just this this town are we not concerned why are we not doing anything like it's

So I'm sure you can wonder why Emily is concerned. And because of this, she goes to a hospital in New York to get some tests done on herself to find out like what's inside of me, what kind of chemicals are living in my body. So the doctors, they gave her a silicone wristband. She ended up wearing this for five days. And then when she went back to the doctors, I don't know how this wristband works, but look, they were able to see like what kind of chemicals were in her body.

And the director of the hospital, you know, goes over all of the results with her and they found 12 toxic chemicals were in her body. And she's like, dude, I don't even do anything. I just like live.

You know, she's not living like this wildlife. But what they were able to track was that there was a bunch of phthalates, some pesticides, and even flame retardants. I don't even get my start. We could do a whole episode on flame retardants. It's all in your furniture. All the shit you're getting from home goods. It's in your baby clothes. It's in everything. So look,

She's like, oh great, my body's not even mine. It's all owned by chemicals. And then they gave her a urine test and there were even more chemicals traced in her urine. This would make sense, kind of, if Emily was walking through a war zone or maybe she worked at a chemical plant or, you know, right? That would kind of make sense. But this was just a normal woman living her normal life.

life doing normal, everyday, basic things like waking up, going to work, going to the grocery store, going home, making dinner. You know, like things that we do, right? So it got me thinking like, oh my God, I don't want to know what's in my body. Oh, do you know how much fragrance is in makeup? Oh, what am I going to do? I bring up Emily's story because it's really our story too.

Because the CDC found that 93% of human beings have chemicals like this in our bodies. 93%. That's like all of us, kinda. I want to know about the ones who... This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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Don't have it. Where are they at? Mermaids? There's this incredible documentary you can watch on HBO right now. It's called Not So Pretty.

I would suggest watching every episode, but I'm referring to the skin episode right now. And in that documentary, a woman goes to see a doctor to find out what her toxic levels are. When it comes to the BPAs found in plastic that I mentioned earlier, a normal level in the body is considered a three. Hers was 23.

Well, hot diggity dog, right? And when it came to phthalates, girl, Jesus, take the wheel. Because the recommended level in the body is less than like 300 or something like that. And hers was 1,192. Wow.

Okay. It's kind of like, what do you do with that information? You're like, okay, thanks. So fuck me, right? Okay. Thanks doc. You know, like what are you supposed to do with that? And again, this was a normal quote unquote healthy person just living their life. And then it gets even more scary. There was a recent study that said phthalates in everyday products are believed to be linked to over 90,000 premature deaths per year.

So what are we gonna do? We need a plan, right? Because of all the risks associated with being exposed to these toxic chemicals, I mean, it's no wonder that a ton of doctors and researchers believe that there's no such thing as a normal level of these toxins.

which totally makes sense, but they're trying to convince us that it's totally normal. And then even worse, these companies say that these toxins are not harmful at all because they've tested it themselves. And who's gonna give themselves an F when they're grading their own test? Also, they test these chemicals one at a time in very low amounts, which is not the way that we humans are exposed to them. We're exposed to like a cocktail

of chemicals. Think about it like this. Maybe you're at home enjoying a glass of wine or cider for my gluten-free friends. You're about to put on the Wizard of Oz for the 9,000th time, Bailey, again, yes? And then your friend calls and is like, "Hey, do you wanna meet me in a cool bar for a drink?" So you go there and then you're like, "I'm gonna have a vodka soda."

And then the night goes on and things get a little cray. You end up in a bush, you're taking shots, stumbling home. And you're like, I want a cheesy gordita.

Right? And then you feel sick because you've got like five kinds of alcohol in you. Yeah, it's like that. It's like that. That's what the chemicals are doing. Most of us just aren't exposed to like one glass of wine. We're getting swasted, sloshed on chemical overload every single day by everything we put in our bodies. And also everything we are putting on our bodies. Deodorants, lotions, shaving creams, body washes.

laundry detergent, hairspray, like everything has fragrance in it.

Deodorant. Don't even get me started on deodorant because like there's two different types of deodorants, antiperspirants and then deodorant. I never knew the difference, but I'm going to tell you what the difference is. Antiperspirant means that there's a chemical involved that actually blocks your sweat glands and essentially stops the sweat from coming out of your body. Sounds great, right? It's not great because what you're actually doing is disrupting the body's natural process of like getting rid of

bacteria purging, you know? So antiperspirants get a bad rap for having aluminum and other potentially cancer-causing ingredients in them. But the jury is still kind of out on how bad that stuff is for us. And I mean, lots of people have claimed that there is a connection between antiperspirants and breast cancer, but there's no like proper research or anything being

funded to determine if this is true or not because they don't want to know because then they have to change everything and that costs money. But we need to demand better. We really do. This is concerning. There was this huge recall last year that CNN reported on where a known cancer-causing chemical was found in dozens of batches of deodorant body sprays from 30 different brands. The chemicals

is not supposed to be used at all, according to the FDA, because even trace amounts create unacceptable toxicity. But it's not just in deodorant. These chemicals can be found in other places like active volcanoes and forest fires, which is so random, right? But I mean, think about it. That's not healthy to breathe in. Forest fire?

No, not good for you. And on top of that, the majority of deodorants and antiperspirants contain all the sketchy things that we have talked about earlier. Fragrance, phthalates, blah, blah, blah. They're just trying to get rid of us. They hate us. I feel like this has been a conversation that's been going on for quite

for quite some time, the whole deodorant debate. But have you tried natural deodorants? 'Cause look, they're not that great, right? I have tried. I have tried so hard, but they, you stink. You stink. What do we do? Rub leaves in our armpit? I don't know what to do, you know? I don't have an answer for you. I still use deodorant knowing damn well that it's probably killing my tit. I don't know. So I wish I had like an answer for you.

but that's what we need more of. So let's get the conversation going, you know? So candles, perfume, deodorant, makeup, shaving cream, body cream, blah, blah, blah, the list goes on. I wish I could say, you know, the list was short, but it's not. We humans got very carried away with fragrance and yeah, just everything. The alene can be found in

Bitch, the list, look, tampons, lotions, scented trash bags, shampoo, cosmetic products, nail polish, body wash, baby soap, cleaning products, face paint, medical devices, shower curtains, toys, hairspray, computers, laptops, smartphones, wallpaper, school supplies, carpets, tap water, meat, cheese, soil, sex toys. Yeah, it's in here, sex toy.

What are we supposed to do? And since it's literally everywhere and we know how bad it is for us, like we know it's not good for us. It can't be legal, right? No, wrong, of course not. This is America. The only state that has any type of laws around what chemicals are in fragrance is California, allegedly. And it went into effect in January of 2022. So yeah.

49 other states have got nothing requiring companies to tell the truth about what's in their products. But what advocates say really needs to be done is getting a... This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance. It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts.

discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Law passed on the federal level. I came across an organization called Earthjustice. Earthjustice. And they're a nonprofit legal company who, they pick fights with big...

you know, big companies. And I love it. Like, you know, come on. Their motto is, quote, because Earth needs a good lawyer, which...

Facts, Earth does need a good lawyer. And the way that they're doing that is by essentially trying to ban the bad chemicals in everyday products. They have over 650 lawsuits happening as we speak and over 180 lawyers fighting for us, essentially, and Earth. And if you want to work for them, their website says their offices are officially like all fragrance-free.

and like clean. So if you go for an interview, don't wear perfume or anything, okay? Good luck. Our expert on the episode also pointed us in the direction of a couple smaller organizations that are fighting the fragrance fight. Black Women for Wellness and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners are amazing places to look at if you're interested in learning more and also giving back. I would highly suggest checking out the episode notes for some links,

to learn more. I mean, you know, this is just, I just scratched the surface with this one. There's a lot, a lot more. It's quite depressing. Anyways, I also suggest to maybe start looking at all the products in your house

Ugh, good luck. I did this the other day. Go to the bathroom, the kitchen, you pick something up, I mean anything up, you turn it over, you're gonna see the word fragrance. Literally nothing in your house is safe. It's so unfortunate. One thing to do, you could switch to unscented, right? Which is great, but also start small. It could be really overwhelming, right? Super overwhelming. So like there's apps you can download that scan products and tell you if there's

you know, bad chemicals in it. There's one called Skin Deep and Detox Me. They look up product rankings for toxicity and safety so you can make informed decisions. I mean when you really think about it at the end of the day like it kind of it feels like we're not it feels like we're powerless sometimes but brands need us more than than we need them right? So if we all

I hate putting it back on us because I want it to be on them, you know? But if we stop buying scented garbage bags and stuff, maybe we'll stop making them. I fucking doubt it. Okay, something also crazy that kind of makes you frown is that it's not happening like in other countries, like this whole fragrance situation.

Just for example, almost all of Europe has a very long list of banned chemicals and it's about to get longer. They're in the middle of trying to expand the list to 12,000 chemicals because they seem to kind of care, which is interesting. On our list in the USA, there are a whopping 11 banned chemicals that are not allowed in our products. So.

We gotta look out for ourselves because America will always put money first and not our wellbeing. I mean, have we learned nothing? Don't be silly. Anyway, sorry to put a little damper on your day 'cause this is really depressing information, honestly. I sat and like marinated on it for a long time because like, look, at the end of the day, we all die, right?

I know I'm taking a sharp left here. We all die. So it's like try your best to eliminate the fragrance and the chemicals where you can and there's gonna be some things that maybe you don't want to. Like for me,

I'm so sorry, but I love makeup, right? And it's just like, I know it's bad for me, but I love it. And I'll try and find like the unscented stuff where I can or, you know? So it's kind of like, just try your best. I'm not trying to get all preachy on you. Like I miss, like come to my house and I don't have a candle lit. Like I do, you know? Being informed, I think is the most important part. Just knowing that something isn't safe can either...

make you purchase or put it away. And it's like, that's all we kind of want, just some honesty and transparency. Like, hey, this product might literally fucking kill you. Oh, okay, I might pass on that candle. Good to know, appreciate that. It's only until these companies stop being so fucking greedy. Let's rage. We meet at midnight in front of the water fountain. See you there. Either way, we're all gonna die anyways. So see you in the underworld.

Well everyone, thank you for learning with me today. Starting to be such a rain cloud on a sunny day. That was kind of cute. Remember, be curious. Don't be afraid to ask questions and to just educate yourself on shit because you deserve that. Now, I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So make sure to use the hashtag dark history over on social media so I can follow along, see what you're saying.

my binoculars. Join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, don't forget to check out Murder, Mystery, and Makeup where I cover myself in fragrance on camera. I hope you have a great day today. You make good choices and I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye.

Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junya McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Claire Turner from Maiden Network.

Writers, Katie Burris, Alison Filobos, Joey Scaluzzo, and me, Bailey Sarian. Shot and edited by Tafadzwa Namarundwe and Hannah Bakker. Research provided by the Dark History Researcher team. And I'm your host, Miss Bailey Sarian. And scene. ♪♪