Is it really 2009?

I think not. Maybe 1958. If it were 2009, there's no way that this is in the Science section of the NY Times. It's a Q&A, and apparently someone wrote in asking if it's safe to store foods near a microwave, where they may receive "unhealthy doses of microwave emissions." Really? I mean, really?

The answer isn't much better. He starts out with "If the foods you are storing near your microwave oven are not somehow visibly changed, as if cooked, then they are not being affected by your microwave," and continues with reminding us that using a microwave does not make food radioactive or contaminated. I was hoping that the author, C. Claiborne Ray, had recently joined the Times from Cnn.com, but was saddened to discover he'd been an editor there for over 25 years. Other challenging questions tackled by Ray include "Is it dangerous for children to go through metal detectors?" and "When I walk through the woods, are the same flies following me, or is it new ones in new areas?"

*sigh*