Come on, guys, you're doing everything needed to blow your credibility and scare away everyone who doesn't think like you! To get this back on track and out of the conspiracy theory morass, I did a little unscientific experimentation. A message was recently posted with references to the idea that most of the iodine painted on the skin simply evaporates rather than being absorbed. To try to test this I painted my own arm and the arm of my 10 year old daughter. Then I painted a small patch on a piece of wood, plastic and paper towel. After 10 hours both the patch on my own arm and that of my daughter had faded to a very light shadow. After 18 hours my own had disappeared and my daughter's could only be seen under a bright light. The samples on the wood and paper towel haven't changed at all. They just dried up and remain now, 24 hours later as dark as they did after initial drying. The plastic sample dried into crystalline form. Seems to suggest it's being absorbed rather than evaporating? I'm in the Great Lakes region, 40 y/o, and have been taking approx. 12-15 drops of Lugolds for 5 days.