# If an everlasting gobstopper existed, how could it be best used? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059 "2024-01-13T23:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/1 "2024-01-13T23:24:54Z")
Not sure if this belongs here or elsewhere. I think the answer are factual, but it references a fiction. In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka has invented the everlasting gobstopper, which he describes as something you can suck and suck on but it will never shrink. It is forever. Obviously, this is physically impossible so there must be some way to abuse it. Let’s ignore anything dealing with food (since obviously infinite food even if a gobstopper has utility), how could an everlasting gobstopper be best used to benefit humanity? There should be some kind of infinite energy right but how to extract it? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/2 "2024-01-13T23:34:24Z")
If we presume that one can infinitely draw flavor from it, and that flavor is sugar (or something else that can be converted into usable energy), then we draw that sugar into a sugar burning (or similar) power plant, and use that power to sequester carbon (even as it probably creates some carbon). Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/3 "2024-01-13T23:53:55Z")
Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the [Everlasting Pill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimony_pill)… ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/4 "2024-01-13T23:58:39Z")
So getting an infinite energy supply would be straight forward, getting more than a trivial amount of energy. Assuming there is no upper limit on how fast it can be “sucked”. Putting it in a very fast lathe next to some abrasive substance while extracting and burning the result to drive a generator, would seem the easiest way, but the net energy gain would seem really small even if it would go on forever. So there is no obvious benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2024, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/5 "2024-01-13T23:59:19Z")
I don’t see why it’s physically impossible. Our flavor receptors are engaged by molecules in the substance fitting into various receptor proteins. It seems possible, at least in principle, to have flavor molecules that are permanently attached to the surface of the gobstopper, and hence be reusable. They might need to be on the end of a protein chain, so that they could move around via thermal motion and properly fit into the receptors, but then be pulled away for reuse when the gobstopper is removed. As far as I know, the gobstopper isn’t nutritious in any way, so there isn’t necessarily an unlimited source of sugar or the like available. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/6 "2024-01-14T00:00:21Z")
Or the Eversomuch-more-so, the everlasting source of goodness. We read the book when I was in fourth grade, and the idea stuck with me ever since > **[Reading With My Kids: Homer Price and Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey](https://fiddlrts.blogspot.com/2014/07/reading-with-my-kids-homer-price-and.html?m=1)** > > Source of books: I own these. I chose to read these two related books to the kids because they were some of my favorites when I was a ki... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/7 "2024-01-14T00:16:43Z")
Yeah, that’s the way I interpret it, too: It stimulates the taste buds without any material actually being drawn off of it. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/8 "2024-01-14T01:55:51Z")
It seems like there could be an insecticide that works by imparting the sense of nutrition without providing any calories. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/9 "2024-01-14T08:39:33Z")
Are you sure that’s how taste buds work, just two things fitting together jigsaw-like, with no alteration of the things from their interaction? And that this all happens right on the surface so you could just yank the molecule away after it’s done? I don’t think it works like that. Even if it did, that would only get you the sensation of sweet, salty, bitter etc. if you wanted the gobstopper to taste of mint or snozzberry, those parts of the taste sensation are happening in the nasal cavity ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/10 "2024-01-14T08:48:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Even if it did, that would only get you the sensation of sweet, salty, bitter etc. if you wanted the gobstopper to taste of mint or snozzberry, those parts of the taste sensation are happening in the nasal cavity - I don’t think a gobstopper would fit in there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/11 "2024-01-14T09:15:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you sure that’s how taste buds work, just two things fitting together jigsaw-like, with no alteration of the things from their interaction? Well, I’m no molecular biologist, but glucose is a pretty simple molecule, and altering it would change its nutritive nature, so I doubt it gets changed. My understanding is that detection really is a surface effect like the usual jigsaw analogy. I think salty and sour may be different since they depend on ion transport (salty detecting Na+ ions, and sour detecting H+ ions). I guess sour might be a loss since it means no lemon-flavored gobstopper, but sweet at least seems like a win. I agree that the lack of smell isn’t great… but honestly, most jawbreakers/gobstoppers\* are barely more than balls of sugar in the first place. [\*] I didn’t realize until just now that “gobstopper” is actually what they’re called in the UK. I thought that was just a Willy Wonka thing. They’re called jawbreakers here. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/12 "2024-01-14T09:19:15Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > altering it would change its nutritive nature, so I doubt it gets changed That reasoning only makes sense if you were tasting every single molecule you ingest. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/13 "2024-01-14T09:22:01Z")
True. Nevertheless, I’ve seen no suggestion that it happens. And to emphasize, my PhD in molecular neurobiology is actually 10 minutes of YouTube videos. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/14 "2024-01-14T09:25:45Z")
I can’t seem to find any useful information about what happens after a taste receptor is triggered - that is, the mechanism of reset, and whether the triggering molecules are simply released, or if they are broken down or absorbed. If they’re not normally released, then I suppose trying to mechanically pull them back off might result in damage to that area. So the everlasting gobstopper would still become tasteless, along with everything. I thought the 1971 movie dealt with this quite subtly by depicting the everlasting gobstopper as something that would be uncomfortable to put in your mouth. It lasts forever because it hurts to use it. [![](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/7/9/5/795621e1f7e34f5fa3a2027f6a9e471792368fc5.jpg) ](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/7/9/5/795621e1f7e34f5fa3a2027f6a9e471792368fc5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/15 "2024-01-14T09:39:02Z")
I suppose another possibility is that it’s an electronic device of some kind. It could electrically stimulate the taste receptors in some fashion. It would need to be recharged somehow but it could be solar powered (presumably, one wouldn’t have it in the mouth _all_ the time). ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/16 "2024-01-14T09:50:09Z")
Although if we’re going that route, why not directly stimulate the [appropriate areas of the brain](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sensation-of-taste-is-built-into-brain/)? (Although the method in the article uses optogenetically modified neurons, but it seems like in principle, something similar could work either with a few electrodes inserted at the appropriate places, or perhaps using transcranial magnetic stimulation… If it can make you see god, why not also experience the taste of boysenberry or lemon meringue pie?) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/17 "2024-01-14T10:03:27Z")
Maybe it’s not quite _everlasting_, but instead comes with a lifetime guarantee, which is almost the same thing. Candy outside with a cyanide center. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/18 "2024-01-14T10:57:49Z")
The outer layer of an everlasting gobstopper might transmogrify into a colloid, with flavour-stimulating regions embedded on its outer surface. These regions would come into contact with the various regions of the tongue where different flavours are received. When you take the gobstopper out of your mouth it resolidifies into a hard outer layer again. A form of haptic/sensory stimulation that would necessary for a fully immersive virtual reality experience. Assuming suitably advanced gustatory stimulation, you could simulate a turkey dinner, although you would still feel hungry afterwards. To get rid of those you’d need a brain/computer interface, as HMHW suggests. Eventually we’d all starve to death happy. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/19 "2024-01-14T12:09:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, that’s the way I interpret it, too: It stimulates the taste buds without any material actually being drawn off of it. It could also be a spherical device which, when placed in the mouth, emenates electric fields that induce a sweet sensation by acting directly on the brain and making you _think_ you taste sweetness without touching your taste buds at all. Eta: I see others thought of the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059/20 "2024-01-14T12:38:03Z")
Huh. They’re called gobstoppers in Canada too. Although I’ve also see jawbreakers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-an-everlasting-gobstopper-existed-how-could-it-be-best-used/996059.md?page=2)