(slow paced jingle)

[Narrator] Mr. Know-It-All.

[Mr. Know-It-All] What's the rule of thumb

on expired medicines?

I just popped a past its prime Tylenol

and it seemed to work fine.

Are those expiration dates just a corporate racket?

Drug companies tend to err on the side of caution

and they're not exactly adverse

to selling you a new bottle of pills

before your old one is empty.

The FDA once evalsuated a US military stockpile

of aging drugs and found that 90%

were perfectly safe and effective past their

expiration dates.

Now, one of those meds, a remedy for,

of all things, nerve gas poisoning

still worked after sitting on a shelf

15 years longer than recommended.

Of course, shelf life will fluctuate

based on environmental factors such as,

temperature and humidity.

A bottle of Aspirin in a moderate climate

like California's will age slower

than in an extreme climate like Florida's.

Though, pain relievers never expire

in Florida on account of its geriatric population

burning through them like candy.

So, if you take an expired pill and it doesn't work,

just buy a new bottle or switch to homeopathic medicine,

which never expires because it never works

in the first place.

I'm Mr. Know-It-All, which means I already know

wether or not you are interested in clicking

on the subscribe button.

You are.