On March 31, 2004, the popular television game show, Jeopardy, had as one of its categories: “elements.” The “answer” on the game board was: “dentists use silver fillings which are actually 50% this.” The quickest contestant responded: “what is mercury?”
Several weeks ago Bill Maher while on the Larry King show said he had his mercury fillings removed because they were poison. Lisa Presley, in a Rolling Stone interview, said she almost died from her mercury fillings. Tom Hanks said he had his fillings removed.
With all the recent media attention to the Bush administration’s roll back of mercury emission levels for industry, the EPA report that 630,000 babies a year are adversely affected by mercury in utero and the ever-increasing toxic levels of mercury in many fish, the public is becoming very aware of how toxic mercury is. However, the largest segment of the public isn't aware that they have mercury in their teeth, and we imagine that many Jeopardy viewers did a double take when they heard that the correct answer was MERCURY!
All mercury-free activists should take courage at these events and do every thing they can to make them a daily event.
By Sandy Duffy, Esq.