How did coffee online news cover the Sam's water rumor?
A weakly alkaline natural mineral water sold at Sam's Club went out of stock after rumors spread that fathers who drink it are more likely to conceive a son. The topic topped Weibo's hot search list. The product meets the GB8537 standard, costs about one yuan per bottle on average, and comes from Changshou Mountain in Bama, Guangxi. Sam's customer service said the claim has no scientific basis.
The Shenzhen Health Commission had already rejected the acid-base constitution idea as pseudoscience, yet users shared personal stories and even compiled drinking guides. Sex determination is random, and the rumor spread through familiar online channels where folk remedies resurface. Stories like this, covered in coffee online news and general health reporting, show how a routine product can be recast as a remedy.
Recently, a weakly alkaline natural mineral water sold at Sam's Club was snapped up and went out of stock after rumors spread that "if the father drinks it, he can have a son," and the related topic topped Weibo's hot search list. This product, which meets the GB8537 standard and costs about one yuan on average, comes from Changshou Mountain in Bama, Guangxi. It was originally just ordinary mineral water, but because of its "weakly alkaline" label, it was credited with effects such as neutralizing stomach acid, lowering uric acid, and even helping conceive boys. Although the Shenzhen Health Commission long ago debunked the idea of an "acid-base constitution" as a pseudoscientific concept, and Sam's customer service also responded that there is no scientific basis for it, many netizens on social platforms still shared experiences of "it worked for me" and even summarized a "best drinking guide." This article will retrace the whole incident, explore the social psychology behind the rumor, and remind readers: whether a baby is a boy or a girl is random, and the baby's health is what matters most.
Do those so-called folk remedies for having a boy or a girl actually make any sense?
According to the common sense taught to us by nine years of compulsory education, whether a baby is male or female is inherently a matter of chance, and so-called "sex-switching secret formulas" have no scientific support. Yet every so often, new rumors always emerge claiming that as long as you adjust some key variable that determines the direction of sex, you can turn a probabilistic event into a certain outcome.
This time, the one labeled as "guaranteed to produce a son" is Sam's. According to reports, a weakly alkaline natural mineral water stocked at Sam's Club was sold out in stores. Judging only by its packaging, it is just a bottle of ordinary mineral water, but because of the circulating claim that "it is noticeably effective in helping fathers have sons after drinking it," netizens jokingly called it "son water," and then the topic #MineralWaterRumoredToHelpConceiveSonsSoldOut# surged to the top of Weibo's hot search list.
Some netizens had an epiphany and commented, "No wonder when I went to Sam's over the weekend, there were so many people around that shelf. I thought it was a promotion, so I also grabbed a whole box, thinking that at less than one yuan a bottle it really was a good deal." Others analyzed it convincingly: "Most people's mindset is probably: who cares if it's true or not, buying a box first won't hurt."
It should be noted that not all Sam's mineral water is called "son water"; the key lies in the water source—it must be from Changshou Mountain in Bama Yao Autonomous County, Hechi City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is said that this longevity village has the largest number of centenarians among the world's five major longevity townships. Sam's chose to cooperate with it precisely because of the "longevity" label attached to that water source.
Public information shows that this 300-milliliter natural mineral water from Sam's complies with the GB8537 natural mineral water standard and costs about one yuan per bottle. The product is labeled "weakly alkaline," and it is precisely this "weakly alkaline" claim that first led to rumors on social platforms that it could neutralize stomach acid and lower uric acid, then became more and more absurd, eventually evolving into "husband and wife drinking it together can help conceive a boy." Sam's mineral water also frequently appeared under topics such as #PregnancyPreparationGuide#, #ReceivingBabyBoy#, and #GoodPregnancyComes#.
In the comment sections, quite a few netizens indeed testified from personal experience: "Son water, I drank it and gave birth to twin boys," "It really helps have a son, it worked for me," "My husband and I both drank it, and sure enough, we had a boy." Prospective parents who are preparing for pregnancy or trying for a second child enthusiastically discussed the magic of "son water" and even agreed to verify its effect together after the children were born. They even summarized a "best drinking guide for son water": the father must drink it, preferably continuously for more than half a year, since men are the ones who provide Y-chromosome sperm.
At the same time, another group of netizens remained clear-headed: "This shows that the preference for sons over daughters has not changed much," "It shows there are still quite a few people who think they have a throne at home to inherit," "I'm shocked! This is actually news you can still see in 2024," "How many years has nine years of compulsory education been implemented, and how can such bizarre things still happen? Even if someone had attended school for just a few days, they wouldn't be like this. Nowadays, self-media fabricates things by any means for traffic, and some netizens believe it without discrimination, giving up even the chance to acquire knowledge and becoming more and more blindly obedient."
In fact, similar claims on social platforms that "alkaline pregnancy preparation increases the probability of having a boy" are common. Earlier, there were also rumors that couples who want a son should eat more alkaline foods such as pumpkin, potatoes, and eggplant, and some even suggested taking incense ash to conceive a son.
But as early as last year, the Shenzhen Health Commission published an article on its official WeChat account to refute the rumor, clearly pointing out that "acid-base constitution" is a pseudoscientific concept. Whether eating alkaline foods or washing the vagina with alkaline liquids, neither can affect the sex of the fetus, and improperly using douching liquids may instead trigger vaginitis. Boys and girls are both treasures, and the baby's health is the top priority.
According to another media report, on September 2, customer service at Sam's Club responded to reporters that the product is Sam's own brand and is merely ordinary mineral water, and that the claims online have no scientific basis. On the same day, staff also said that the company had noticed the online public opinion, but the related claims lack scientific support, and stressed that the company had never spread such statements, and that the various things online should be individual behavior.
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
