Comments on Paleo-Future: Whole Meal in Pill (1923)

They didn't forsee that the pill would come wrappe...

2008-04-20T20:26:00.000-04:00

They didn't forsee that the pill would come wrapped in foil and that we'd call it a "sports bar."

"Vaht? More pills?" "In my day, a meal vas a meal!...

2008-04-17T01:14:00.000-04:00

"Vaht? More pills?" "In my day, a meal vas a meal!"

"Ah dunno boys, gib me de good ole days!"(Hope som...

2008-04-16T20:39:00.000-04:00

"Ah dunno boys, gib me de good ole days!"

(Hope someone gets the reference)

DARPA has reportedly funded development of a trans...

2008-04-16T19:44:00.000-04:00

DARPA has reportedly funded development of a transdermal nutrient patch for soldiers too busy in battle to eat. That would have sounded science fictional back in the era of food pills.

Indeed, based on the current U.S. Dietary Referenc...

2008-04-16T00:32:00.000-04:00

Indeed, based on the current U.S. Dietary Reference Intake, a male age 19-30 needs 130 g of carbohydrates, 56 g protein, 38 g fiber, around 18 g of various vitamins and minerals, and about 65 g of fat, for a total of roughly 307 g (0.68 lbs) of "food pills" every day. If the pills had a density of, say, 1.5 g/cm^3 (the same as sucrose), thats about 205 cm^3 (12.5 cubic inches) of pills each day. Nutritionists in 1923 must have had huge vest pockets. You'd think that even back then they'd have had a better idea of how much a person eats in a day.

I've got to say, I consider a good meal to be one ...

2008-04-16T00:11:00.000-04:00

I've got to say, I consider a good meal to be one of the finer things in life, a simple and incomparable pleasure. To be sure, there are times when a quick pill might be convenient - long hikes to remote areas, space travel, emergency food aid - but I can't imagine the masses actually wanting to replace normal eating with pills.

You'd probably need a choke down a pill that'd wei...

2008-04-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

You'd probably need a choke down a pill that'd weigh about a pound. Could that fit in a vest pocket? Would a giant suppository be a better option?

Also its physically impossible to pack all the cal...

2008-04-15T19:06:00.000-04:00

Also its physically impossible to pack all the calories you would need into 1 pill.

Does anyone know why people in the past were so ob...

2008-04-15T18:54:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know why people in the past were so obsessed with this idea? Did they not enjoy eating? Or did they just think it would be "cool"...?