Diet & Food
Posts involving food, dieting, and other health-related topics.
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Background: In most cases, the listed price of a product is also its actual price. But sometimes this is not true. Airlines, cell phone providers, and restaurants (among other businesses) occasionally add non-obvious “bonus” costs to the final fee. Sometimes, these are temporary: in New York City in 2021, a ~10% “COVID surcharge” was authorized…
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Background: The specific etymology of most food names is lost in ancient history. But a few foods are named after specific people. One of the most notable is the food/concept of a “sandwich,” named after “John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Montagu,_4th_Earl_of_Sandwich). Proposal: This opens up a new possibility for gaining personal fame and fortune:…
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The Issue: After a person purchases a gigantic (yet economical) tub of snacks, they’re probably doomed to devour them in short order. But what if there were a way to harness human laziness to prevent devouring of junk food? Proposal: Behold, the solution! Just put an excessive number of binder clips on the container that…
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Background: Many foods require a certain minimum amount of cooking time, yet there isn’t always an obvious visual indicator of “done”-ness. The Issue: As a result of the lack of a visual indicator, a chef must laboriously inspect food by (for example) cutting into it, poking it with a fork, or tasting it. These time-consuming…
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Background: Ramen noodles in a cup (Fig. 1) are a popular so-called “instant” meal, beloved by graduate students, programmers, and a wide variety of individuals who lack culinary pretentions. The Issue: Despite being called “instant” noodles, these noodles actually require a non-zero amount of time to eat! Part of this is due to the fact…
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Background: When people go out to restaurants in groups, it can be hard for a waiter to keep their order straight: there might be a dozen people at a table, all with slightly-different (yet easily confused) orders. The Issue: Normally, it’s easy to fix a dish that was given to the wrong person—just swap it…
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The Issue: Some people would like to drink less, but they have a hard time sticking to a small number of drinks. If only there were some sort of overcomplicated technical solution to this problem! Proposal: This “shrinking wine glass” (Figure 1) could be a solution to excessive drinking. Such a glass consists of two…
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Background: For the vast majority of human history, a top survival concern was obtaining food. The Issue: It easy to become fat, and difficult to lose weight: “overabundance of food” is an unusual situation that was not frequently encountered in evolutionary history. However, it’s unclear how (in modern society) a person could replicate the food-acquisition…
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Background: Some restaurants serve beers in “flights”: a “sampler pack” of several small servings of a variety of different beers (Figure 1). The Issue: Strangely, very few foods are available in this format, with a few common exceptions: sliders (tiny hamburgers), charcuterie-style meats, cheese platters, and the nebulously-defined “appetizer platter.” Proposal: More foods should be…
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