Eating Glass
The new Google magazine archive is a goldmine for weirdness. Here's another find from Popular Science, Nov 1931:
The full results of Hoelzel's glass-eating study were published in the American Journal of Physiology, (Mar 1, 1930), "The Rate of Passage of Inert Materials Through the Digestive Tract." The article includes a helpful chart, detailing exactly how long it took for various substances (including steel ball-bearings and bent silver wire) to pass through Hoelzel's system:
Hoelzel was an interesting character. He became an expert on nutrition and often subjected himself to grueling diet experiments -- particularly experiments involving fasting for extended periods of time. The Life photo archive has a picture of him, taken in 1955. He seems to have been one of the first researchers to make a link between calorie-restriction and longevity, though it didn't really work for him. He died in 1963 at the age of 73.
EATS GLASS AND STRING TO AID STOMACH STUDY
Glass beads, strands of knotted thread, and even tiny pellets of gold is the diet of Frederick Hoelzel, Chicago, Ill., university student, since he offered to aid physiologists of the University of Chicago in research work on indigestion. The foreign objects are mixed with his meals, and his stomachaches come under laboratory scrutiny. They are no novelty to the subject of this unusual experiment; he volunteered for the tests because he already suffered from severe digestive troubles.
Glass beads, strands of knotted thread, and even tiny pellets of gold is the diet of Frederick Hoelzel, Chicago, Ill., university student, since he offered to aid physiologists of the University of Chicago in research work on indigestion. The foreign objects are mixed with his meals, and his stomachaches come under laboratory scrutiny. They are no novelty to the subject of this unusual experiment; he volunteered for the tests because he already suffered from severe digestive troubles.
The full results of Hoelzel's glass-eating study were published in the American Journal of Physiology, (Mar 1, 1930), "The Rate of Passage of Inert Materials Through the Digestive Tract." The article includes a helpful chart, detailing exactly how long it took for various substances (including steel ball-bearings and bent silver wire) to pass through Hoelzel's system:
Hoelzel was an interesting character. He became an expert on nutrition and often subjected himself to grueling diet experiments -- particularly experiments involving fasting for extended periods of time. The Life photo archive has a picture of him, taken in 1955. He seems to have been one of the first researchers to make a link between calorie-restriction and longevity, though it didn't really work for him. He died in 1963 at the age of 73.
Comments
Wow, a scientific study that has immediate bearing on my dietary habits. Thanks Life Magazine!
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 12/12/08 at 12:43 PM
Wait... they determined that he still had 2.96 glass beads in his belly? That's an oddly precise number, isn't it?
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 12/12/08 at 12:45 PM
Does anyone remember the guy who ate a bicycle? I remember this from the show "That's Incredible" back in the seventies. I wonder if he's still alive.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 12/12/08 at 01:01 PM
Correction. That's Incredible ran from 1980 to 1984. It was not on during the seventies.
Big Gary - I used to love watching that show. You're right, it was reality television before reality television was cool. Strange that I hate reality TV these days.
Big Gary - I used to love watching that show. You're right, it was reality television before reality television was cool. Strange that I hate reality TV these days.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 12/12/08 at 01:34 PM
That's Incredible was good, but not as good as Ripley's Believe it or Not! (the version hosted by Jack Palance). I think it may have been Jack's voice that made the show so eerily memorable to me.
Believe it... or not!
Believe it... or not!
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 12/12/08 at 03:22 PM
I had such a crush on John Davidson. Ripley's was better though (and yes, Jack's voice was awesome!!).
Posted by BikerPuppy on 12/12/08 at 03:34 PM
Bikerpuppy - I had a crush on Cathy Lee Crosby. Damn she was hot! Or maybe, I was just a horny little kid.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 12/12/08 at 04:40 PM
Bigger than my crush on John Davidson was my crush on Dirk Benedict -- Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica (who gave them the right to make Starbuck a woman in the new series???).
Posted by BikerPuppy on 12/12/08 at 06:13 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: Food | Nutrition | Science | Experiments