I like dates.  I'd like to go on one =P

I thought you were gonna say Richard SImmons

My great-grandparents used to give me prunes and dates all the time when I was a child! I don't think I've had a whole date since then, I don't remember liking them very much, along with figs.

Maybe I'll try and change that.

oh damn, I should go get some dates!! :)

they look scary, but i want to try them

I remember trying dates once in the 5th grade and not liking them.

But then, during my senior year of high school, a good friend of mine baked these sugar cookies with dates inside of them, and oh my goodness, they were delicious!

@KJLavender@xanga -  I'm glad that you're a fan of them. However, citation is not needed, since this is the internet and the purpose behind me sharing this post was to invoke people's interest in them. Don't get me wrong: it is my duty to share real information; it's just that it is the reader's job to do their own research after having them be interested in consuming said fruit. 

It is a well-known fact that the body is an organism in which everything has its place; its reason for existence. A lack in some nutrient does have its consequences, and those consequences lead to others like the ripple effect. Hence why leveling one's  PH  can solve so many issues, etc. 
Anyway, most of the research done for this post was in another language, but you can find plenty of English sites mentioning the same benefits. For this post, I had to read several sites, and dismiss the repetitive information and then do a bit of my own ( ex. when learned that it levels one's PH levels, I had to see what that actually meant; what does happen when it's not normal-- which turned-out to be plenty, to say the least.) 
Here are a few to get you started, if you're interested: 1, 2 , 3, 4. 
Also, what I haven't mentioned in the post is that a person can live healthfully just by consuming dates and having milk on the side. Yes. 
As for having it hard to imagine anyone eating 14 a day, well, there are just so many variables here but basically, it's subjective. 
Finally, as I've said in the post, those are just some of the benefits; not all. And remember, when people are suspicious of something it's more than likely because they're uneducated/new about/to it. 

i think i need to start adding these to my diet

Dried dates are really good in oatmeal with a little bit of cinnamon. Since they're already so sweet, I don't even need to add sugar once I stir them into the oats.

@NYPr1ncess@xanga - oh thank you.  I only wish I hadn't made that typo.  You're from NY?

I LOVE dates.  They look weird, but I crave them sometimes.  I don't like the pitted ones though (aka the cheap Dole/Del Monte ones).  They don't taste as fresh.  The seed isn't that hard to get out.  The good ones are so freaking expensive though!  If it weren't for that I'd eat way more.