The Popcorn Stand: A bald faced lie

As many of you who choose to read this Popcorn Stand know, I love Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

In one episode, David comments, “He’s bald and he lied. He’s literally a bald-faced liar!”

Well in a sort of life imitates art type of thing, it turns out the thought that eating McDonald’s fries could help treat baldness has turned out to be a bald-faced lie, so to speak.

I don’t really have a problem with baldness — although I can tell there’s been some thinning as my forehead has for some reason gotten higher over the years. There’s plenty of gray, though, and it’s going to stay that way as I’ll never take Grecian Formula (man am I dating myself) or Just For Men or whatever it is men take nowadays to get rid of the gray.

I’m sort of glad the thing about McDonald’s fries is a myth because I would’ve missed the Hair Club guy who says, “Not only am I the founder, I’m also a member.” Actually I haven’t seen that guy in a while.

Well, then, I would miss Peter Brady telling me “this is my real hair.”

The myth began when a Japanese researcher, Junji Fukada, linked an ingredient in McDonald’s fries as a treatment for baldness.

Fukada was able to mass-prepare thousands of “hair follicle germs” in the form of a silicone. Fukada was able to transplant the cultured follicles onto mice and see further hair growth.

The silicone used in the experiment just also happens to be used by McDonald’s as an anti-foaming agent in its frying oil for its fries, chicken McNuggets and Filet O’ Fish sandwiches.

The idea McDonald’s products could actually help reduce baldness apparently got some traction as there were health reports going around eating these McDonald’s products could possibly help reduce baldness.

For his part, Fukada said he’s baffled by why people thought his research showed eating McDonald’s could possibly reduce baldness.

Fukada has said he’s actually been asked how many fries one has to eat to grow hair.

No wonder the Hamburgler wears a hat. He’s surely bald.

— Charles Whisnand