Follies of the Madmen #553

In 1970, everything was psychedelic, including kids' vitamins. The subtext of handing out groovy pills could not be denied.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 22, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Advertising, Children, Nutrition, Psychedelic, 1970s

Meat Homogenate

For a mere $1,064 one can buy four cans of something called "meat homogenate" from the U.S. government's National Institute of Standards and Technology.



The stuff is edible. The NIST website describes it as "a mixture of pork and chicken products blended together in a commercial process." However, it's not actually supposed to be eaten. It's sold as "standard reference material." All the nutrients in it (fatty acids, cholesterol, calories, vitamins, etc.) have been carefully measured. So companies can buy it and use it to calibrate their own equipment used to measure the nutrients in the food they sell. The high cost of the meat homogenate reflects the work done to measure the nutrients. Not the food itself.

However, I think the NIST should sell 'meat homogenate' labels as a gag gift, and people could put them on their own cans. I wouldn't mind having a few cans of meat homogenate in the pantry to impress guests.

The NIST also sells three jars of peanut butter for $1,069.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 22, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Food, Nutrition, Government

The Good Book Cookbook

Not a lot of nouvelle or fusion or fast-food cuisine in this volume. (Read it here.)

I did a search for "locusts" within the book, but no recipes, with honey or otherwise. However, you can source them here, at Biblical Protein.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 22, 2022 - Comments ()
Category: Food, Nutrition, Cookbooks, Religion, 1980s

The Shipwreck Diet

Studies conducted by the U.S. Army in the late 1940s sought to determine the minimum amount of food a person would need to survive if they were shipwrecked on a desert island.

One of the oddities the researchers discovered was that if, for some reason, the shipwrecked person had to choose between steak and water, they should choose the water: "Protein has the effect of drying up the body. Therefore eating a steak on a desert island with little or no water available would probably be worse than eating nothing, depending upon how long rescue took."

"Shipwreck Diet: One of eleven Army volunteers who for six weeks will live on biscuits and water at the Metropolitan Hospital, New York City, to determine a human survival ration."
Newsweek - Mar 15, 1948

Waterloo Courier - Nov 16, 1949

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 16, 2020 - Comments (4)
Category: Food, Nutrition, Experiments, 1940s, Dieting and Weight Loss

Sugar Doping

1924: Despite being fed sweet hot tea and peppermint creams in an experimental attempt to increase their energy, the Yale soccer team lost to the visiting team by 5 to 1.

Bridgeport Telegram - Nov 11, 1924

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 10, 2020 - Comments ()
Category: Sports, Experiments, Junk Food, Nutrition, 1920s

Halloween Donut Party

Throughout the 1950s, the donut industry tried hard to make Donut Parties a Halloween tradition. Their PR men also claimed that donuts could help make Halloween "more nutritious."

San Bernardino County Sun - Oct 30, 1957

San Bernardino County Sun - Oct 30, 1957

Oct 23, 1955 - “Dos & Don’ts for Halloween Donut Party”

The Salem News - Oct 17, 1955

Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 31, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Food, Junk Food, Nutrition, Halloween

The Gandhi Diet

I'm surprised no one has yet cashed in on this and written a bestseller called THE GANDHI DIET.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 26, 2017 - Comments ()
Category: Celebrities, Reformers, Do-gooders, Agitators and SJWs, Nutrition, Historical Figure, 1930s, India

Ice Cream as Health Food

Original ad here. (Scroll to the left.)

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 13, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Children, Junk Food, Nutrition, 1930s, Australia

ABOUT [email protected]%N TIME

France has enacted a law limiting excessively thin models from working until their BMI reaches a minimum level set forth in the law. Fines and even jail time can be leveled against fashion houses and modeling agents trying to use models that are thinner than the law allows. Its about time we quit letting vanity destroy our little girls.

Posted By: patty - Sun Apr 05, 2015 - Comments (13)
Category: Addictions, Eating, Design and Designers, Fashion, Food, Nutrition, Health, Disease, Mental Health and Insanity

The First Dog Whisperer

Much iconography that was once taken for granted as part of our culture now means nothing to people. Does any youth of today understand that a Napolean hat = crazy?

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 26, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Business, Advertising, Products, Food, Nutrition, Dogs, 1960s