Everything About Nothing

You might be wondering what the title of this post means and why it matters. Actually, I am not sure how significant this fact is either myself but thought of informing anyone who really needed to know. What does this have to do with TGIF and Olive Garden?
Have you ever picked up a box or a small packet of crayons and looked at what’s written on the back? other than the label of the crayons, manufacturer info e.t.c
I recently visited a TGIF and Olive Garden nearby and decided to pick up one of their small packets of crayons that they offer to little kids, on my way out.  I noticed that on the packet and on each of the 3 crayons inside it, it was written ‘ Non-Toxic’ ‘Conforms to ASTM-D4236′. I was very curious about what it meant and I decided to find out.

Well, ASTM stands for the American Society of Testing and Materials and is a non profit international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for wide range of materials, products, systems and services.

The D4236 is part of the ‘Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act’ which was signed into law by the President on November 18, 1988. The act provides standards for labeling art materials that were considered hazardous or ones that were intended for use in households or for children.
Well, does this mean that we can let kids chew on the TGIF and Olive Garden crayons? I might not go that far…better to be safe than sorry.

You can find more details about it at:
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5016.html

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Have you ever noticed the phrase “Warning: Phenylketonurics-contains Phenylalanine on a pack of gum or a can/bottle of soda and wondered what it means?

Phenylketonurics is a term used for people who have the disorder called Phenylketonuria where they have a deficiency of an enzyme which is required for proper digestion of an amino acid called phenylalanine .
well..great!..thanks!, that explains a lot!

It is similar to information being placed on a product which contain peanuts or milk to inform people that are allergic to peanuts or are lactose intolerant.

Phenylalanine is found in most foods that contain protein like meat for example. The reason why packets of gum and soft drinks contain the warning is because they contain a sweetner known as aspartame, which contains the amino acid Phenylalanine.
So, Phenylketonurics have to follow a low protein diet inorder to avoid Phenylalanine.

If Phenylketonurics intake a good amount of Phenylalanine, the amino acid will not digest properly and will build up in the blood in the form of an acid called Phenylpyruvic acid. If a lot of Phenylpyruvic acid builds up in the system, it can damage brain cells and cause a variety of other side effects such as progressive mental retardation.

You can get more information about this disorder at:
http://www.ess.sunysb.edu/tracy/whatis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylketonuria