# If you could gain the nutrition of an entire meal in a single pill, would ya? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273 "2002-12-17T06:16:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/41 "2002-12-18T02:08:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\*Also, in the pills-that-do-everything-but-wipe-your-ass category, I read last year (or it might have been in late 2000) in _Discover_ magazine that scientists fully expect to have a memory pill completed by 2005. Supposedly you would take the pill, and absolutely everything you read or experienced for the next eight hours would be permanently stuck in your long-term memory. The article pointed out that it would be great for studying or learning a foreign language, but potentially annoying to have, say, the entire list of ingredients in Rice Krispies floating around in your head for 20 years. \*\* Holy four-legged ruminate, Batman! Which issue? ---
**Author:** ![mudcrutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@mudcrutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudcrutch)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/42 "2002-12-18T06:04:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lodrain \* > \*\*Holy four-legged ruminate, Batman! Which issue? \*\* I think he is talking about [this article.](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1511/6_21/62277748/p1/article.jhtml) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/43 "2002-12-18T06:15:45Z")
Looks like my estimate was a little late. The issue was from June of 2000. [Here](http://www.discover.com/jun_00/featsmart.html) is a teaser. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/44 "2002-12-18T06:17:42Z")
Ah, yeah. The whole article. Even better. Thanks **mudcrutch.** I should have previewed my post. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/45 "2002-12-18T06:57:52Z")
It would save time, but then what would you be doing with the time you saved? It would have to be something more enjoyable than eating. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/46 "2002-12-18T08:46:04Z")
Yes. I’d still like a traditional meal now and then, but the pills would be really convenient at times, especially if they also took care of hunger pangs. Sleep pills? You bet. I could watch my Sims all night long and not feel like crap when I go to work the next day. Orgasm pills? Ooh, yeah. I’d rather get hot and sweaty with my wife, but her moods don’t always coincide with mine. “Not tonight? That’s ok honey, just let me get a glass of water.” ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/47 "2002-12-18T12:34:47Z")
Fuck me NO. Food is the best thing in the entire world. I live for food. The only thing that makes me forget about food is playing computer games. Even then, I like to keep some chocolate at my elbow. ---
**Author:** ![Koffing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Koffing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koffing)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/48 "2002-12-18T15:15:47Z")
Would anyone’s answer change if the food pill were somewhat more expensive than the average meal? I like eating, but I also don’t like doing dishes. I _can_ cook, but I prefer not to cook. I’d be all over that food pill and that sleep pill. I’d use the extra time to read more books and do some writing. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/49 "2002-12-18T15:22:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > \*\*Exactly how large would this pill be? \*\* You’d need a fork and knife… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/50 "2002-12-18T16:01:23Z")
Take the amount you ingest each day and minus the amount you excrete. That would be roughly how big an ideal pill would have to be. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/51 "2002-12-18T17:58:42Z")
Like **Cheesesteak** I’d probably use it to replace a couple of meals a day. I know that there are lots and lots of people who love eating, but I’m not one of them. I like sleeping, but I’m not a big fan of food. I exasperated a friend’s mother recently because she wanted to know what my favorite food was (I was going to be helping them on a project through dinner) and I couldn’t really come up with one. A pill a couple of times a day sounds pretty good to me, especially if coupled with having a meal at the end of the day to satify the few food cravings I do have- bread, meat/poutry and sweets are about it. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273/52 "2002-12-18T18:07:56Z")
Can we talk about the orgasm pill again? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-gain-the-nutrition-of-an-entire-meal-in-a-single-pill-would-ya/143273.md?page=2)