Woman Refuses to Visit Tropical Locales Due to Fear of Insects

By SOME KERNELS OF TRUTH Nov. 14, 2014

BOSTON, MA — A woman in Boston, Massachusetts is angering friends over her refusal to travel to any tropical region for fear of encountering exotic insects.

“My friends and I are trying to plan a fun trip for this winter and they keep suggesting places like Puerto Rico and Hawaii, but I hear there are huge, flying bugs in tropical places like that. So there’s no way I’ll go there,” said Melinda Michaelson.

Michaelson’s friends say they don’t understand her staunch refusal to visit a tropical climate.

“First of all, we’d be staying at a nice hotel and would probably never even venture out beyond the tourist areas, which I’m sure are not running rampant with bugs,” said Lisa Andrews, a friend of Michaelson’s. “Besides, it’s winter; why would we not visit a tropical climate? There’s no point in visiting another cold area!” Andrews added.

Fellow friend Angela Ford agrees with Andrews. “I even suggested hot, but dry, areas like Arizona, but Melinda won’t go there either. She started talking about how places like that have scorpions and that was the end of that discussion too, which was really frustrating,” Ford said.

As for where Michaelson would be comfortable staying, she told reporters she is open to “temperate places” but would not elaborate further.

The group has put their vacation plans on hold for the time being, pending further research and discussion.

Note: Just some more fake news for fun, yet based on true discussions I’ve been a part of; there’s always a “kernel of truth” (well hello, blog name shout-out!) to the “fake” stories I write!

Special Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

A few days ago, I wrote about natural ways you can clean your home to avoid unnecessary exposure to harsh chemicals.

I recently realized there’s another related tip I’d like to share with you: there’s also a natural option you can use to kill insects too. I’ve tried it myself, and it works.

I’m talking about apple cider vinegar.

I once had a lot of fruit flies at in an old apartment I lived in — to this day, I have no idea why, because I kept things clean and didn’t have old fruit lying around. Anyhow, I dealt with the problem by mixing some apple cider vinegar with detergent, which I read about online, and it worked — the flies were drawn to the scent of the apple cider vinegar, and either fell into the solution and drowned, or drank some and were poisoned by the soap mixed in. I’m not sure which, since some seemed to fall in right away, while others seemed to linger on the edge and “enjoy” the concoction at first. But either way, I ended up with dozens of them floating in the solution I’d left in various cups throughout my apartment, and I was able to say goodbye to the annoyance!

This is a great alternative to toxic insecticides, and it’s also very affordable. You can find it in health food stores, most standard supermarkets and online.

Incidentally, apple cider vinegar also has many health benefits too — I’m just learning about this aspect of it myself and want to investigate it some more. If you’re interested in that side of it too, I recommend reading this book, which covers all the varied uses of apple cider vinegar, ranging from using it for digestive problems to treating arthritis and much more.

We owe it to ourselves to try gentler, natural remedies for life’s various challenges before reaching for the harsh, unnatural stuff, don’t you think? It’s at least worth a try!