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100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

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Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#71

Post by Periodic »

MikeCapone wrote: post #66
ErrantX wrote: post #8

I always find it interesting that sci-fi depictions of "evolved" humans (i.e. many years in the future) usually depict very tall, thin - even willowy - figures. That seems to fly in the face of general trend :)

If humans survive long enough to become highly advanced technologically, we'll almost certainly have a high degree of control over our bodies. Tall, thin and handsome is probably to be expected. See Iain M. Banks's Culture novels for a fictional depiction of this pushed to the extreme (people there can even chose to switch from one sex to the other whenever they feel like it).

That's always been the dream, hasn't it? Eventually technology will become good enough that we won't have to worry about being responsible.

One thing I've become annoyed with lately is how little planning anyone does. Who needs to make solid plans when you can can just call someone via cell phones and make the plans as you go? It makes coordinating more than a few people very hard.

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#72

Post by yangyang »

stusmith1977 wrote: post #44
rauljara wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a Bangladeshi friend explain to me ~8 years ago that all the female Bangladeshi movie stars (not to be confused with Bollywood stars) were fat. For most of the population, being thin was a sign of not being able to afford much food, so fat women were the ideal. Just goes to show how subjective certain kinds of beauty are.

Ditto, a couple of hundred years ago being pale was fashionable - it meant you were rich enough to not work outside. Nowadays of course, we mostly work indoors - so being tanned is fashionable.

Still the same in parts of asia (China, India).

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/skinwhitening-a...

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#73

Post by staticshock »

sociological images recently wrote about this. here's their article, which provides some interesting information omitted by the parent link: http://contexts.org/socimages/2010/02/08/the-last-sideshow-f...

the most interesting omitted point is this: the last Fat Man actually retired as late as 2003

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#74

Post by Kisil »

eru wrote: post #62
david927 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has become more health-conscious but also, in the last 50 years, has began to be exploited by manufacturers. Note, this person would be shocking still in Europe. Chemicals and corn by-products are stuffed everywhere in American products. Even in crazy places like maple syrup and ketchup. I went back to the States at Christmas and we went to an upscale grocery store, yet my wife couldn't find almost anything (y…

While I share your sentiment about too much processed foot, may I ask what's there to say against genetic engineering?

Right: how GM foods affect health is an entirely separate question from how processing affects health, yet the two are conflated all the time. I'm sure it doesn't help that the most common wrong reasons for opposing processing (e.g. "getting back to nature") also oppose genetic engineering.

(But processed foot is actually quite delicious.)

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#76

Post by exit »

MikeCapone wrote: post #66
ErrantX wrote: post #8

I always find it interesting that sci-fi depictions of "evolved" humans (i.e. many years in the future) usually depict very tall, thin - even willowy - figures. That seems to fly in the face of general trend :)

If humans survive long enough to become highly advanced technologically, we'll almost certainly have a high degree of control over our bodies. Tall, thin and handsome is probably to be expected. See Iain M. Banks's Culture novels for a fictional depiction of this pushed to the extreme (people there can even chose to switch from one sex to the other whenever they feel like it).

if we can manipulate neurological details like gender, why not lock ourselves into a happy-loop and be done with history?

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#77

Post by adamhowell »

axod wrote: post #70
hackermom wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, WALL-E really nails the reality of western man's search for perfected convenience.

It really should have been billed as "Not a fun kids movie" IMHO. Still surprises me that people liked that movie.

It's still the only movie my 3-yr-old daughter will sit through. The first 30 minutes is some of the best storytelling ever put to film, IMHO. So much told with so little.

Other Pixar movies like Monsters, Inc. or Cars are either too scary or too talky. Wall-E is the perfect balance, and such a well told story that I never tire of it, either.

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#78

Post by krschultz »

gaius wrote: post #31
ErrantX wrote: post #8

I always find it interesting that sci-fi depictions of "evolved" humans (i.e. many years in the future) usually depict very tall, thin - even willowy - figures. That seems to fly in the face of general trend :)

One thing that's always bemused me about scifi is future superhumans adapted for ultimate survival (e.g. the Nietzscheans in Andromeda) are tall, muscular, lean, brave, intelligent, etc. Whereas for survival, you want humans that are small (so they need less food), weak because they have slow metabolisms, hairy to keep the heat in, fat because they are good at storing food in case of famine, cowardly so they avoid ri…

It isn't about survival. It is about procreation. If you survive to 100 years old and have no kids, you "failed to survive" in an evolutionary sense compared to a guy who died at 30 but has 3 kids.

So if the tall, muscular, lean, brave, intelligent guys can have more kids than the short, fat, hairy guys, those guys will have a greater influence on the future species than the survival in the face of catastrophy.

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#79

Post by krschultz »

timwiseman wrote: post #50
SamAtt wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I agree with that. I think the fast food industry gives a false impression because they started out with fattening food. But all the current fast food places were founded a relatively short time ago (McDonalds: '55, Burger King: '53, KFC: '52, Taco Bell: '62, Pizza Hut: '58) and as they've evolved their menus have become healthier. Beyond that technology is paving the way for a less fattening diet. Diet…

* they've evolved their menus have become healthier.* Have you looked at the nutrition facts lately? Or seen the new commercials for KFC heart attack of two pieces of fried chicken with bacon and cheese in between? I wasn't around when the fast food places you mention were founded, but if this is the trend towards healthier then I am amazed people survived for any length of time after they emerged. (Granted, many hav…

I can walk into any McDonals in america, order a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo, a bottle of water, and have a legitametly healthy meal any time I want.

You couldn't do that in in previous decades because they only had fried chicken.

So the tools are out there, people just choose to continue ordering the triple quarter pounder.

Re: 100 years ago, people paid money to see a fat man in a circus sideshow.

#80

Post by gojomo »

mikecane wrote: post #75

People of Walmart. http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=12413

I like Walmart, and I've noticed this phenomenon.... though much of my experience may just be noting geographic differences in obesity, as the Walmarts I visit tend to be in the less-urban areas of California, Nevada, or central Texas.

I'd love to see guerrilla-installation of some sort of weight-strain gauge under the entrances/exits of major eatery chains, so as to collect and publish data on the average weight of their customers.

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