# Please tell me this isn't a permanent part of our (American) culture... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971 "2013-01-03T16:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/1 "2013-01-03T16:46:25Z")
On Facebook just now, I discovered a friend posted this: [http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/daily-morning-awesomeness-15.jpg](http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/daily-morning-awesomeness-15.jpg) (SFW) When and why have we Americans incorporated as part of our popular culture trying to top each other on inventing the most fattening, grease-laden, and heart-stopping meat-based foods we possibly can? Are we so used to Europe making fun of our collective fatness that we’ve now just started making fun of ourselves? What gives? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/2 "2013-01-03T17:00:29Z")
You’re late to the (bacon strips, and bacon strips, and bacon strips) party. But if they do anything, these monster feasts actually induce nausea through their creations. I’d wager far more people view these, and think about how out of shape they are vs people actively emulating them. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/3 "2013-01-03T17:05:58Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > You’re late to the (bacon strips, and bacon strips, and bacon strips) party. But if they do anything, these monster feasts actually induce nausea through their creations. I’d wager far more people view these, and think about how out of shape they are vs people actively emulating them. I actually enjoy watching Epic Meal Time myself, but more for the theatrics than the over-the-top food. However, perhaps I’m part of the issue I’m whining about here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/4 "2013-01-03T17:18:29Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Are we so used to Europe making fun of our collective fatness that we’ve now just started making fun of ourselves? What gives? Yes. No one, including Americans, ever made fun of fat Americans until recently after it became fashionable because Europe was doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/5 "2013-01-03T17:28:39Z")
It’s the fall of Rome all over again. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/6 "2013-01-03T17:39:39Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yes. No one, including Americans, ever made fun of fat Americans until recently after it became fashionable because Europe was doing it. It’s the old conundrum of which came first: the KFC Double Down “chicken patty bun” sandwich or the 6-egg country omelette slathered with sausage gravy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/7 "2013-01-03T17:48:15Z")
I think it’s a sterling example of American efficiency, packing a week’s worth of calories into a single meal. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/8 "2013-01-03T17:53:52Z")
Read the account of what Diamond Jim Brady used to have for breakfast or Henry VIII. > **[The Real Diamond Jim Brady](https://immortalephemera.com/2512/the-real-diamond-jim-brady/)** > > Did Diamond Jim Brady really eat that much? A brief biography of the Gilded Age personality James Buchanan Brady which is a companion post to the Examiner.com coverage of the 1935 movie Diamond Jim… _Brady is described as having routinely begun his day “with a hefty breakfast of eggs, breads, muffins, grits, pancakes, steaks, chops, fried potatoes, and pitchers of orange juice. He’d stave off mid-morning hunger by downing two or three dozen clams or oysters, then repair to Delmonico’s or Rector’s for a lunch that consisted of more oysters and clams, lobsters, crabs, a joint of beef, pie, and more orange juice.” In midafternoon, allegedly, came a snack “of more seafood,” followed by dinner: “Three dozen oysters (the largest Lynnhavens were saved for him), a dozen crabs, six or seven lobsters, terrapin soup,” and a steak, with a dessert of “a tray full of pastries… and two pounds of bonbons.” Later in the evening, allegedly, came an après-theater supper of “a few game birds and more orange juice.”_ Or read about accounts of eating a 40oz steak to get a free meal, common for decades. The French and other Euro nations also have their moments of gluttony too. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/9 "2013-01-03T17:55:17Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > . . .[http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/daily-morning-awesomeness-15.jpg](http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/daily-morning-awesomeness-15.jpg) . . . . WANT! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/10 "2013-01-03T17:55:59Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > It’s the fall of Rome all over again. Woah, Woah, Woah. If were going out Rome style, I’m still due orgies and gladiator death sports. Feasts alone doesn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/11 "2013-01-03T18:35:44Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > When and why have we Americans incorporated as part of our popular culture trying to top each other on inventing the most fattening, grease-laden, and heart-stopping meat-based foods we possibly can? Think of it as a sort of Rule 34 of Food Porn. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/12 "2013-01-03T19:16:24Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yes. No one, including Americans, ever made fun of fat Americans until recently after it became fashionable because Europe was doing it. don’t get in the way of a self-hating american. it doesn’t look much worse calorie-wise than a full English breakfast or Ulster Fry, but I don’t hear any complaining about those. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/13 "2013-01-03T19:37:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Or read about accounts of eating a 40oz steak to get a free meal, common for decades. 40? Try 72 ounces, at the Big Texan in Amarillo. [http://www.bigtexan.com/free72.html](http://www.bigtexan.com/free72.html) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/14 "2013-01-03T21:16:37Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > 40? Try 72 ounces, at the Big Texan in Amarillo. > > [http://www.bigtexan.com/free72.html](http://www.bigtexan.com/free72.html) OH-MY-GOD, does that look gooooooooooood!!! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/15 "2013-01-03T21:25:03Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > When and why have we Americans incorporated as part of our popular culture trying to top each other on inventing the most fattening, grease-laden, and heart-stopping meat-based foods we possibly can? Not to spoil the fun, but I think people invent such things for the publicity. I doubt very many people ever actually eat the thing in the OP, or those weird bacon-on-bacon combinations. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/16 "2013-01-03T21:34:35Z")
I saw bacon strips woven like the plastic webbing on an aluminum beach chair, into a square, and fried. To put on a sandwich. I was toying with the idea of doing this for the family for Christmas - but if I did it once I would have to cook it that way forever after! ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/17 "2013-01-03T23:26:23Z")
Don’t forget about the glazed doughnut hamburger bun. > **[Luther Burger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Burger)** > > A Luther Burger, or doughnut burger (among several naming variations), is a hamburger or cheeseburger with one or more glazed doughnuts in place of the bun. These burgers have a disputed origin, and tend to run between approximately 800 and 1,500 calories (3,300 and 6,300 kJ). > According to legend, the burger was named for and was a favorite (and possible invention) of singer, songwriter and record producer Luther Vandross. This origin is mentioned in a January 2006 episode of animated serie... ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/18 "2013-01-03T23:41:15Z")
You mean you have never seen the dearly departed [This Is Why You’re Fat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_is_why_you%27re_fat) website? Still available in stomach-busting [Tumblr](http://thisiswhyyourefat.tumblr.com/) form. Or watched Man vs Food. I am one of those fat Americans everyone makes fun of but I cannot watch that show. It makes my belly ache. How can anyone eat that much food and not die? My lean husband, however, loves it. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/19 "2013-01-03T23:41:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not to spoil the fun, but I think people invent such things for the publicity. I doubt very many people ever actually eat the thing in the OP, or those weird bacon-on-bacon combinations. When I was doing Atkins I would eat the KFC double-down. Not too bad. It is only 540 calories. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971/20 "2013-01-04T00:17:08Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > It’s the fall of Rome all over again. \ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-tell-me-this-isnt-a-permanent-part-of-our-american-culture/645971.md?page=2)