- America, land of the free and banner of many things.
The United States of America is known
for freedom and selection.
In fact, go into any grocery store and see
just how many flavors of Oreo they have.
It's a magical place.
However, there are many things that are banned
from the country, and some of them
are things that you wouldn't expect,
that you thought would be readily available,
but actually aren't allowed in the country.
Here are 10 things that are banned in America, part two.
Number 10 are toys containing phthalates.
One of the most recent bans by the United States
Consumer Product Safety Commission are phthalates
in kids toys and childcare products.
Phthalates are the various salts and esters
used to make plastics and vinyl softer and bendable,
and found in just about everything made in China,
which is just about everything.
Now while it's fine, in theory, for products meant
for adults, the chemical is incredibly toxic for children
and can cause hormone and fertility disruption,
and has even been connected to obesity, asthma,
neurological and cardiovascular issues, and even cancer.
But the US government may go even farther than that
and ban phthalates outright, especially in cosmetic products
because they can do potential damage in unborn children,
so get 'em while you can, I guess.
Number nine are unpasteurized dairy products.
Europeans will tell you that unpasteurized milk, cheese,
and creams are the only civilized way to consume dairy.
Compare that to the ironclad American laws
stating that commercial dairy products must be heated
to 72 degrees Celsius or aged at least 60 days
to destroy all pathogens.
In other words, stinky old cheese.
The FDA keeps Americans safe from the unpasteurized dairy
coming out of factory farms with poor sanitation,
fermentation, temperature control, and/or sick animals.
Ain't nobody wanna drink milk from a sick cow, moo.
Now some argue that the FDA goes too far,
because not only does the richer flavor of raw milk products
get compromised, but it also kills the good gut bacteria
that helps combat obesity and depression.
Fun fact, pasteurization was invented by a Frenchman
named Louis Pasteur, who created the pasteurization process
over 150 years ago that makes our dairy
so safe and flavorless.
So don't go putting your mouth on no cow udder,
'cause the government ain't gonna like that,
you gonna get in trouble.
Number eight are shark fins.
Chinese wedding banquets in the United States
will never be the same after Congress introduced
the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act in 2016,
banning its sale and importation.
Shark fin soup is a Chinese delicacy
that its proponents claim increases the male libido
and extends human lifespans,
but the means to acquire the fin,
which is made of pure cartilage and basically has
no nutritional value, is destructive, wasteful,
and some argue immoral because the sharks that are caught
have their fins viciously removed,
and then thrown back into the water to die.
Similar to the way that rhinos and elephants
are killed for their ivory, 73 million sharks a year
are killed for their fins.
But in spite of the ban, shark fins continue
to find their way onto American dinner plates
because of the lack of oversight and deep-pocketed diners
willing to pay extra for the illegal meal.
People, there's lots of options out there,
you don't need to go kill a shark and eat its fin,
that's kinda nasty.
Besides, what did Bruce the shark do to you?
Fish are friends, not food.
Number seven are antibacterial soaps.
What, yeah, you didn't know this one.
On September 2nd, 2016, the FDA washed their hands
of 19 of the most common additives found in
commercially available antibacterial soaps.
These chemicals are banned because
their health benefits are unproven.
In addition, they cause severe environmental damage
to organisms like algae that are essential
for healthy ecosystems.
Furthermore, the continued overuse of the most
commonly used chemical, triclosan, created in 1970,
are causing antimicrobial-resistant mutations
that can render other doctor-prescribed
antibiotics ineffectual.
So in other words, all those people that are germophobes
that are constantly going oh, I gotta clean my hands, germs,
are actually a threat to public health.
Studies have shown that washing your hands
with regular soap and water has a near identical
effective bacteria reduction rate of 82% as with
antibacterial soaps without all the unnecessary risks.
So next time you see somebody pop one of those open
ready to spill it, just slap it out of their hands.
Just kidding, that would be assault, don't go to jail.
Number six is the Toyota Hilux.
The most popular pick-up truck in the world
is not the Ford F-150, a Chevy Silverado, or a Dodge Ram.
It's actually the Toyota Hilux.
That vehicle can be found almost anywhere in the world
but the United States.
The reason that the Hilux is banned
is what's known as the chicken tax,
started back in the 1960s when European markets
slapped a 25% tariff on all US poultry imports,
which were dirt cheap and a threat to domestic farmers.
So the United States reciprocated with its own
25% tariff on imports of brandy, potato starch,
dextrin, and light trucks.
So while Americans can buy some Toyota and Nissan trucks
made in the United States, no Hilux for you.
Number five are hoverboards.
While these auto-balancing scooters didn't
technically hover, these two-wheeled contraptions
were ubiquitous at schools, malls,
and basically Justin Bieber house parties.
Sure, they were kind of obnoxious and hard to control,
resulting in slow-motion crashes and would often
spontaneously combust and thus were banned on airplanes,
but that's not why they were banned in America.
The Segway company filed a complaint
with the United States International Trade Commission
that the Chinese manufacturers of so-called hoverboards
ripped off their patents and copyrights.
Yeah, how dare Chinese manufacturers infringe
on the Segway's patent of dumbest product on wheels ever?
How dare they?
Number four is beluga caviar.
Beluga is kinda like the Cuban cigar of the caviar world.
It's the best-tasting and rarest of fish eggs.
That's especially true now that it was declared
illegal to import commercially, or even to bring
into the United States for personal consumption
as of September, 2005.
The reason for the ban is not a communist embargo,
but the concerns of the environmental impact
of over-fishing of beluga sturgeon that has led to
a near-extinction of them in the Caspian Sea.
While some purist chefs balk at the ban,
there are many environmental activists that believe
that the ban doesn't go far enough
and that it should be adopted worldwide.
Caspian countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan
are allowing beluga stocks to rebound, and ethical chefs
are switching to more sustainable fish roe.
I think a good way to sustain these fish
is just to recognize that fish eggs are (gags) nasty.
Number three are Cuban cigars.
Cigar aficionados hold Cubans above all others
for the quality, but part of their appeal
is their illegality.
The US and Cuba have been at odds since 1959,
when Fidel Castro's revolution swept through the island,
confiscated private property, and almost allowed
the Soviets to install missile bases.
So in wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
near nuclear annihilation, and various attempts
to assassinate Castro, including with poisoned cigars,
President John F. Kennedy established a trade embargo
against Cuba in February of 1962.
Now, the ban was partially lifted by President Obama
back in 2016, when he relaxed travel restrictions to Cuba,
although it's limited to $100 of Cuban cigars,
or rum per person.
However, commercial imports are still banned,
and president Trump's reversal of Obama's Cuba rules
may bring the cigar ban back.
So I'm not saying smoke, it's bad for you,
but if you do and you're of age, you may want to stock up
because things about to get crazy.
Number two are bath salts.
Yeah, you remember bath salts, just (yells)
people turning to zombies and stuff on the streets.
There was once a time in America when you could go
to your local gas station and purchase yourself
some mind-bending narcotics without an ID,
and bath salts were all the rage, causing delusions,
heart irregularities, panic attacks,
insomnia, and psychosis.
You may have heard of Miami cannibal Rudy Eugene,
who was shot to death by police while eating the face
of a homeless man, assumed to be high on bath salts,
but later proved to be high on regular old marijuana.
So in July of 2012, President Obama signed a law
banning synthetic drugs like bath salts,
fake marijuana, and other weird drugs
that caused overdoses, violence, and death.
Yes, this all makes sense, yes, very good.
But before the blanket ban, manufacturers would get around
local laws targeting their product by changing up
the chemical formula to create the same effects
but often with some unexpected side effects.
Hm, this new stuff is supposed to be good.
Oh yeah, who's ready to go?
I'm gonna eat some faces. (chomps)
And number one is Four Loko.
Yeah, the Four Loko that you know today
is not the same one that was first made.
Four Loko was essentially carbonated bath salts in a can,
with dangerously high levels of alcohol and caffeine
when it was sold at US liquor stores between 2005 and 2014.
A 24-ounce can of Four Loko sold for only three dollars,
which was marketed to college students,
and those who consumed more than two cans
had a tendency to black out and wake up naked
in strangers' kitchens with tattoos on their chest
or in a jail cell.
The beverage company Fusion avoided an outright ban
by changing the Four Loko recipe to lower caffeine levels,
rendering the drink safe for human consumption,
creating a black market
for the original recipe for Four Loko.
So you can buy the new stuff, but the original
is outright banned because it was considered liquid crack.
Let's just go. (mutters)
So, those were 10 things banned in America, part two,
and if you guys enjoyed this,
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Thank you guys for watching,
and I'll see you in the next one.
Gonna go find some Four Loko, bye.