Bored Into Your Brains

It may finally be time to amend Mr. McGuire’s famous advice to Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate: “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word… microplastics.” It turns out microplastics are on everyone’s minds these days. And in their minds. How much plastic is in your brain? According to some recent research, about seven grams. That’s how much it takes to make a disposable plastic spoon—although, in 2025, it feels a hell of lot more like a fork. “Some of the researchers’ other findings have also prompted widespread concern. In the study, the brains of people with dementia had far more microplastics than the brains of people without it. In papers last year, the researchers showed that microplastics were present in human testes and placentas. Other scientists have also documented them in blood, semen, breast milk and even a baby’s first stool.” NYT (Gift Article): What Are Microplastics Doing to Our Bodies? This Lab Is Racing to Find Out. “It’s not yet clear what effect this amount of plastic has on human health, but it’s enough to cause alarm.” As Matthew Campen, a toxicologist, explains: “‘I don’t think I’ve talked to a single person who’s said: ‘Fantastic! Love to know that there’s all that plastic in my brain.'” (Of course, he hasn’t talked to RFK Jr yet…)

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