# Man lives for 70 years without water and food **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856 "2010-04-30T13:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/81 "2010-05-13T15:43:20Z")
Here’s a fine example of why extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - North Korea claims they’ve developed fusion power: > **[BBC News - North Korea reports nuclear fusion success](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8676678.stm)** > > North Korea says it has made significant progress towards the development of thermo-nuclear power. > **[Norks 'have answer to humanity's greatest problem'](https://www.theregister.com/2010/05/13/nork_fusion_power/)** > > Insane dictator's amazing claim Is it likely that an incredibly poor country with a lousy record of technological achievements has made this breakthrough? No, not really. Given NK’s history of nutty pronouncements in the past, does it make sense to examine any such claim very carefully? Yes. But is it **possible** that they’ve done what they claim? Yes. It’s possible that they’ve made some breakthrough that has evaded every other country working on this for the last several decades, but before rushing out to invest your money in North Korean Fusion Co, I think you’d want to see an actual working fusion reactor and you’d want to see tests by impartial experts in the field demonstrating that it’s actually a practical fusion reactor. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/82 "2010-05-13T19:58:55Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > If you’re going to pretend that you’re a legitimate news team and not just _The Onion_ with better funding, you have a responsibility to not go spouting bullshit just to get attention. I haven’t posted here in a long time. Your post is amazing, wonderful, astute and accurate. Is it available on a bumper sticker? t-shirt? newsletter? Can I quote you? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/83 "2010-05-13T20:08:00Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > Can I quote you? Sure, go right ahead. I don’t know that it would seem particularly insightful outside of this discussion, but if you disagree I’m not going to argue. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/84 "2010-05-13T20:14:06Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > My thoughts exactly. In any debate about the supernatural, the skeptics will insist that they _would_ believe the claim _if_ it were subjected to scientific study. Then when a claim about the supernatural is subjected to scientific study, they just go on insisting that the claim is false. Oh, for crying out loud. If that’s the way you think how much time do you think I should spend investigating this intriguing offer I was emailed today (note, all formatting sic)" > [@Mr Kevin W Fenwick](#): > > International Monetary Fund and World Bank London > Debt Liquidation Committee Republic of Benin > Website / [www.imf.org](http://www.imf.org) > > ``` > The accredited Western Union for your payment at this season. > > ``` > > Attention Dear, > > THE International Monetary Fund in Affiliation with World Bank London > Resolved that your un-paid Inheritance/contract and compensation funds, > Has being > > released on a special method of payment by WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER, > Which shall be transferring to you on an instrumental bases of $5000 > > twice per each day until the whole $1.500,000.00 is completely transferred > to you . > > You are now charging to reconfirm your drawer details .Your name, > address, phone number. send the required details to ; > Dr Mac Donald > Western Union Money Transfer Benin > Email; [westernfundtransfer@cooltoad.com](mailto:westernfundtransfer@cooltoad.com) > Tel; +229-99159022 > Web; [www.westernunion.com](http://www.westernunion.com) > > Note. You will certainly pay a $105 for the processing and Admin. Do > update to us as soon as you drawn your first and second payment .And no > money shall > > deduct from your main fund $1.500, 000.00 this is to keep an accurate > account of your Payments and to avoids hoax since you were disappointed in > the past. > > Hope you know the routine of withdrawing money via w/u?.WESTERN UNION > MONEY TRANSFER shall supply you with some ten digit numbers alias (mtcn) > > money control numbers, text question and answer the amount and your > address as a drawer; you shall withdraw the monies from western union > locations nearest to > > you. > > Regards, > Mr Kevin W Fenwick > Information Director IMF London > Our Web site ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/85 "2010-05-13T20:34:21Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > The second reason is based on attacking the credentials of the people who did the study or the publication that provides the information. This, at least, is safe for those who have a deep emotional commitment to not believing in the supernatural. No matter what credentials a researcher has, you can always demand that the research be repeated by someone with higher credentials, hence you always have an escape route back to skepticism. But of course you don’t always have a route to truth. Lots of good research has been delayed or denied because of groundless attacks on the credentials of the researchers. And I find I’m not done. Dude. Come on, this is beneath you. You don’t see the problems with the experimental design here? Like, the guy claims to never drink water. Oh, he GARGLES water, but he doesn’t drink it. Hmm. Now, maybe this just hadn’t occured to you, but perhaps when this man is gargling water, he swallows–accidentally, mind you–a bit of that water? Or maybe when he’s taking a bath, he pees in the bath? Or maybe when he’s taking a bath, he says, “Look over there, what’s that???” and when the guys turn around he takes a sip of water? See, the experimental design is crap. And it’s got the typical crap folderol of MRIs and cameras and body scans. None of which mean crap. Those things are included because they’re science-y. I bet they had a Jacob’s Ladder too. The problem is that it is trivially easy for a confederate to pass this guy low-residue food. It’s dead easy. It’s so easy that any further discussion about this guy is pointless, except to illustrate how credulous people can be. On the one hand, you have the possibility of a guy who drinks when he gargles, pees in the bath, and gets handed a few biscuits on the sly by a helper. On the other hand, you’ve got a guy who is a perpetual motion machine, and violates the laws of physics, which if true would be very exciting. (On the third hand, the entire story is made up out of whole cloth by a bored reporter on a deadline, but let’s discount that for a moment). So, given that if true this story would be tremendously exciting, why aren’t I interested in further investigation? Because the first possibility is so enormously overwhelmingly likely that considering any other possibility is pointless. As pointless as considering that letter from Benin (NOT Nigeria!) I posted earlier. If you can see why I don’t investigate that letter, you’ll see why I’m not excited about this story either. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856/86 "2010-05-13T21:40:23Z")
It’s still 100% horseshit. No one lives without water. Period. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-lives-for-70-years-without-water-and-food/537856.md?page=4)