Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A miracle drug sold over the counter

trevorklee.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 21 posts

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#11

Post by Zak »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

The LD50 of caffeine for my cat is approximately ten Monster Energy drinks?To an untrained mind, that simultaneously seems like a lot and not much at all. I guess given my cat is 1/10th my weight, that’s like me having 100, which feels like it should kill me. Holy crap. A Dunkin Donuts Large Ice Coffee is 396mg of caffeine. That’s insane. That’s 4.5 Red Bulls. I originally felt a wee bit dismissive of the article’s t…

> Is this a feedback loop? We keep increasing caffeine content because we need more for our beverages to have the desired effect for customers?

Tolerance, or physical addiction is exactly that. A given dose is less effective after a certain amount of repeated use and a larger dose is required for the same effect. Not using the drug at all may cause withdrawal symptoms.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#12

Post by Waterluvian »

Zak wrote: post #11
Waterluvian wrote: post #2

The LD50 of caffeine for my cat is approximately ten Monster Energy drinks?To an untrained mind, that simultaneously seems like a lot and not much at all. I guess given my cat is 1/10th my weight, that’s like me having 100, which feels like it should kill me. Holy crap. A Dunkin Donuts Large Ice Coffee is 396mg of caffeine. That’s insane. That’s 4.5 Red Bulls. I originally felt a wee bit dismissive of the article’s t…

> Is this a feedback loop? We keep increasing caffeine content because we need more for our beverages to have the desired effect for customers? Tolerance, or physical addiction is exactly that. A given dose is less effective after a certain amount of repeated use and a larger dose is required for the same effect. Not using the drug at all may cause withdrawal symptoms.

And now we’re selling a litre of iced coffee in a single serving vessel, which has 396mg of caffeine (or 475mg if you get the extra charged version).

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#13

Post by lamontcg »

lylejantzi3rd wrote: post #7
silisili wrote: post #5

I liked the build up, but > The drug that I’m thinking of is currently predominantly used as a pesticide Is that true? I would think it's predominantly used as a drink additive...

> Is that true? Plants use caffeine to kill bugs. CGP Grey video on the matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg&t=69s

CGP Grey isn't really a credible source, he's an entertainer. He may not be wrong in this case, but everything he says should get verified.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#14

Post by tablespoon »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

The LD50 of caffeine for my cat is approximately ten Monster Energy drinks?To an untrained mind, that simultaneously seems like a lot and not much at all. I guess given my cat is 1/10th my weight, that’s like me having 100, which feels like it should kill me. Holy crap. A Dunkin Donuts Large Ice Coffee is 396mg of caffeine. That’s insane. That’s 4.5 Red Bulls. I originally felt a wee bit dismissive of the article’s t…

> Is this a feedback loop? We keep increasing caffeine content because we need more for our beverages to have the desired effect for customers?

Jolt was marketed to kids, and had twice the caffeine of other sodas. Coffee is an entirely different beverage, marketed at an entirely different group (at least it was when I was in school). What was the caffeine content of coffee in 1950, and how much did people drink? That's what you really need to compare the Dunkin Donuts Large Ice Coffee against.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#15

Post by Waterluvian »

tablespoon wrote: post #14
Waterluvian wrote: post #2

The LD50 of caffeine for my cat is approximately ten Monster Energy drinks?To an untrained mind, that simultaneously seems like a lot and not much at all. I guess given my cat is 1/10th my weight, that’s like me having 100, which feels like it should kill me. Holy crap. A Dunkin Donuts Large Ice Coffee is 396mg of caffeine. That’s insane. That’s 4.5 Red Bulls. I originally felt a wee bit dismissive of the article’s t…

> Is this a feedback loop? We keep increasing caffeine content because we need more for our beverages to have the desired effect for customers? Jolt was marketed to kids, and had twice the caffeine of other sodas. Coffee is an entirely different beverage, marketed at an entirely different group (at least it was when I was in school). What was the caffeine content of coffee in 1950, and how much did people drink? That…

Well there’s also energy drinks that are double jolt.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#16

Post by tomcam »

Waterluvian wrote: post #6
tomcam wrote: post #4

A tiny amount of caffeine (in 1 can of a soft drink like Coke) can wreck my sleep for 24 hours. And I love caffeine. Sigh.

I’ve struggled with sleep for so long that I’m basically one big, tired Petri dish. I’ve found the same in my experiments, which surprised me: 100mg of caffeine between 7-11am is enough to make sleep impossible until maybe 3-4am. Meanwhile my wife can have 200mg at 7pm and be out by 10. I knew caffeine did this but I thought such a small amount so early in the day would easily be gone by night. Next I want to somehow…

Man, do I feel you. Very similar here. Also, I often try different remedies that work a day or three and then stop immediately.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#17

Post by tomcam »

Asooka wrote: post #9
tomcam wrote: post #4

A tiny amount of caffeine (in 1 can of a soft drink like Coke) can wreck my sleep for 24 hours. And I love caffeine. Sigh.

Try taking l-theanine in conjunction. About half as much theanine as caffeine. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480845/

I shall. Study looks compelling.

Re: A miracle drug sold over the counter

#20

Post by justsomehnguy »

Waterluvian wrote: post #6
tomcam wrote: post #4

A tiny amount of caffeine (in 1 can of a soft drink like Coke) can wreck my sleep for 24 hours. And I love caffeine. Sigh.

I’ve struggled with sleep for so long that I’m basically one big, tired Petri dish. I’ve found the same in my experiments, which surprised me: 100mg of caffeine between 7-11am is enough to make sleep impossible until maybe 3-4am. Meanwhile my wife can have 200mg at 7pm and be out by 10. I knew caffeine did this but I thought such a small amount so early in the day would easily be gone by night. Next I want to somehow…

> I’m basically one big, tired Petri dish

LOL, added that to my quotes folder.

Does 'power naps' work for you? What happens if you drink a small coffee past 5pm?

Post reply on HN