The Barium Uncle and the Mere Exposure Effect

I have reached the age where I have to drink barium.

For some reason, middle-aged men love to talk about barium. Why is that? When I was young, I heard about barium from middle-aged men (and sometimes women) countless times. It was tiresome. Why do middle-aged men talk about barium? Do they get some kind of Rakuten points for talking to young people about it? That's what I used to think, but now I've reached the age where I have to drink it myself.

I talk about barium.

Or rather, to be precise, it's about digestive system screenings. In a digestive screening, they use X-rays to look inside your stomach. You have to drink barium and a foaming agent. I'm not entirely sure why, but you drink it regardless.

First, you drink the foaming agent. It's a mysterious granule. They make you drink it without any particular explanation. Once you drink it, your stomach starts to bloat and bubble. It feels like you've just chugged a Diet Pepsi. You feel a burp coming on. As if they read my mind, the nurse says, "Please try not to burp."

I reply, "Okay," but I'm confused. I feel like I'm going to burp. What does it mean to make me drink something that causes burping and then tell me not to burp? It's a checkmate. I get scolded whether I burp or not. Well, I suppose I wouldn't get scolded if I didn't burp, so it's not quite checkmate. I'm just confused.

*Burp*

In my confusion, I let out a burp.

I try to give a sheepish "Oh, sorry," but I get a stern warning: "I told you not to burp." Feeling pathetic, I let out another "*Guff*." I get a cold look. They were the ones who made me drink the stuff that causes burping. Isn't that a bit much? I didn't live for over 30 years just to be scolded for burping.

I wanted to talk about barium, but it turned into a story about burping.

After drinking the foaming agent again, it's finally time to drink the barium. Barium is a mysterious white liquid. It's strangely thick and unpleasant. It feels like I'm drinking something that clearly isn't meant to be a beverage.

Foaming agent, barium. I'm made to drink these mysterious substances one after another. The only reason I can drink them is because of my trust in society. I trust that whatever the nurse hands me is generally safe. If a total stranger handed them to me, I'm confident I would never drink them. I can only drink them because of that sense of trust and security.

In my limited experience, many children who have experienced trauma are picky eaters. This is also common among children with autism. While it may be due to hypersensitivity in their sense of taste, it's also because they lack a sense of security regarding new things. Trust and security are necessary to challenge unknown foods. I hope I'm not the only one who thinks of picky-eating children while drinking barium.

Perhaps the reason middle-aged men talk to young people about barium is to lower the barrier to entry. It's the principle of mere exposure. We tend to develop interest and affection for things we are exposed to repeatedly. Even if they haven't had a digestive screening, many people know of barium's existence. By knowing about it in advance, a sense of trust and security toward barium accumulates. That's how one manages to drink it all down. Thinking of it that way, I feel a sense of gratitude toward all those middle-aged men.

I immediately start talking to a young person at work about barium.


My Rakuten points did not increase.