71–80 of 185 posts
> Modern tool chains are so long and complex that they bind us into one people and one planet.
When we think about colonizing the Moon or Mars with small groups of people with the intention of making the colonies self-sustaining over time, deep, long-evolved tool chains like the one described in the article could be very difficult to scale down and to replicate in other environments.
> The number of individuals who know how to make a can of Coke is zero. This reminds me a fact I remember time to time. If civilization collapses after, say, a world war, I most probably can't make a pot, can't grow plants, can't differentiate if one is edible or not, can't dig for petrol, can't make plastic (or even glass), can't reinvent concrete, can't make gunpowder etc., you get the point. I can only write softw…
Basic concrete is actually not that complex. You need to burn limestone until it collapses into a powder, then add sand and water. Done. For stronger cement, add clay powder. Have you never had relatives who built a house? Sure, usually you'd buy the powdered stone, but I've heard stories of my great grandparent's generation making it on site.
Maybe I'm just dumb on some of these points, but these are my personal followup questions that indicate that, even knowing these basics, I couldn't immediately make concrete without "civilization". Even the great grandparents who made their own concrete, may have bought the limestone and not known how to get it themselves.
I wish Coca Cola would make a acid free version of coke. The Phosphoric Acid adds a slight tang to the drink, but in exchange absolutely destroys your teeth over years of consumption. For regular drinkers like myself I'd happily pay a small premium to buy the "acid free" version of the drink. The sugar still does damage but with both the acid AND sugar it is like a double whammy of "badness" (acid which destroys your…
The problem is, the acid is a vital component of the flavor. Try mixing water with sugar to see what I mean...it is sweet, but it's not particualy good. To make it taste better, the best approach is to add some acid (lemon juice naturally gets you lemonade, but other edible acids would get you a similar effect.) Even fruit juice follows this basic flavor formula (most fruits are acidic, though watermelons are basic)
Speaking as somebody who's never even smoked a cigarette or a joint: are there people who tried to recreate the "original" coke recipe? The one with "unprocessed" coca leaves? Is it available on say the latest instance of Silk Road? What is it like?
The book on the history of coke says that when cocaine was removed old timers would stir some in. However it has no real effect, as ingesting cocaine is not particularly effective except in the presence of alcohol. (The original French recipe that Coke was borrowed form had red wine in).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sodas are sugar water. We already know what sugar does: provide clean, metabolically efficient, allergen free calories. If you're on the road or out and about and hungry, a coke is often the healthiest choice you can make. The quality of options such as fruits and meat and baked goods are typically atrocious at convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Just get a coke and some milk. Available at McDonald's and ga…
This is borderline insane. Pure sugar results in huge swings of actual blood sugar levels. Coke has zero fat, protein or complex carbohydrates all of which are much better macronutrients than pure sugar. If Coke is your only option, sure, but I've never seen a doughnut so terrible that I'd take a coke instead.
Sugar does not produce major swings in blood sugar levels unless you're diabetic. Have a working pancreas? Good, then sugars are a perfectly healthy source of calories which your system will merrily mop up into glycogen. Anyway, starch produces a larger insulin response than sugar, so the sugar phobes are laughably ignorant on this count.
As for your concern with nutrients, the fact is an adult male needs 2400+ calories a day. Protein and other nutrient needs are very easily met with some servings of foods such as eggs and milk and potatoes, still leaving a large calorie deficit. Sugar is a perfectly viable way to add four hundred or so calories to your daily diet. Sugary fruit is best, but high quality perfectly ripe fruit is surprisingly difficult to find. Low quality, unripe fruit has many allergens and toxins. In this context sugar is a very good choice.
Personally I daily have about 12 tsp of sugar (in coffee) and a coke. I'm shredded, btw.
I wish Coca Cola would make a acid free version of coke. The Phosphoric Acid adds a slight tang to the drink, but in exchange absolutely destroys your teeth over years of consumption. For regular drinkers like myself I'd happily pay a small premium to buy the "acid free" version of the drink. The sugar still does damage but with both the acid AND sugar it is like a double whammy of "badness" (acid which destroys your…
I'm no chemist, but couldn't you just add a base to neutralize the phosphoric acid (e.g. calcium carbonate)?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wish Coca Cola would make a acid free version of coke. Good luck with an acid-free version of a carbonated beverage.
If you're referring to carbonic acid, it's too weak to cause tooth decay (at least, according to my reading of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion ). But, in addition to phosphoric acid, Coke also has citric acid. I'm not sure you could remove both and get a drink that's still tasty enough... EDIT: See below. Carbonic acid may not be as meek as I thought.
Enamel erosion due to acid is tied to the acidity of the mouth, which, if the pH drops low enough, starts the demineralization of teeth (note, however, that this is a dynamic process, with systems in place to remineralize teeth, and that this dance happens every time we eat or drink something).
Typically carbonated water alone will be well under a pH of 4, which is itself well below the "5.0–5.7...known to trigger dental erosion effects" in the actually cited fact in that article.
I wish Coca Cola would make a acid free version of coke. The Phosphoric Acid adds a slight tang to the drink, but in exchange absolutely destroys your teeth over years of consumption. For regular drinkers like myself I'd happily pay a small premium to buy the "acid free" version of the drink. The sugar still does damage but with both the acid AND sugar it is like a double whammy of "badness" (acid which destroys your…
I'm no chemist, but couldn't you just add a base to neutralize the phosphoric acid (e.g. calcium carbonate)?
While this is true in that no individual nation could produce Coke with the exact same formula, an individual nation could surely produce a soft drink.