# Would you rather have a Legion flight ring or a Starfleet food replicator? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899 "2012-07-11T15:43:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/61 "2012-07-12T05:37:14Z")
Replicator; I’d simply get much more use out of it than a ring I couldn’t afford to be seen using. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Speaking as both poster & OP: > > It’s firmly established in canon that replicators can’t create living beings; Or more specifically, if you try you end up with a replicated corpse. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/62 "2012-07-12T06:56:34Z")
The ring. Not only is the food replicator boring, it’s more limited. I can make a couple of round trips to the moon with 1 million miles worth of flight. That, vs. 5 years worth of food is a total no-brainer. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/63 "2012-07-12T09:02:19Z")
Flight ring. Flying is awesome enough as it is, so to do it without a plane? Awesome to the MAX! Plus it would make for the best cosplay - Rocketeer, Superman, Hawkman… That, and I actually _enjoy_ cooking, so the replicator is actually _taking away_ something I like doing. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/64 "2012-07-12T09:08:42Z")
The thing I think many are missing with the replicator is that you don’t have to stop cooking, you can just replicate the all the raw ingredients, and rare ingredients that are hard to find or are seasonal. _You never have to go to the store!_ And you can still cook all you want. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/65 "2012-07-12T09:12:29Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > The thing I think many are missing with the replicator is that you don’t have to stop cooking, you can just replicate the all the raw ingredients, and rare ingredients that are hard to find or are seasonal. _You never have to go to the store!_ And you can still cook all you want. I like shopping for ingredients almost as much as I like cooking them. and now I can fly to the shops! ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/66 "2012-07-12T10:03:23Z")
Yes I can go to a store. I can take a 3 hour boat ride through chop to go diving as well, but its a tad more painful. With a flight ring its no more 10 minute waits for chair lifts when skiing, quick trips around Australia to dive different sites, camera angles galore, skiing for a day from the city, visit Dad in the weekend in NZ, its gold. Id take a plane flight to Europe then travel all over from that point. Tons of possibilities. If all those stinky reality losing your finger…hand things didnt get in the way. Otara ---
**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:** [July 12, 2012, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/67 "2012-07-12T10:10:12Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > The thing I think many are missing with the replicator is that you don’t have to stop cooking, you can just replicate the all the raw ingredients, and rare ingredients that are hard to find or are seasonal. _You never have to go to the store!_ And you can still cook all you want. It’s still meh. Waiting for things to be in season, and hunting for things that are rare are facets of the enjoyment. If it was a _general purpose_ replicator (not just food), I’d be on the horns of a dilemma. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/68 "2012-07-12T11:44:03Z")
A maximum airspeed of only 200 mph??? At that rate it would take more like 24 hours to fly from New York to London! And all that time over water? With no food or beverage? It’d be worse than flying in the Spirit of St. Louis! Give me supersonic and transatmospheric capability, and we’ll talk about it. In the meantime, I’ll take the replicator plus some extra power units. Oh, and Terry Farrell isn’t “very pretty.” She’s **SMOKIN’ HOT!!!** 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/69 "2012-07-12T12:28:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A maximum airspeed of only 200 mph??? At that rate it would take more like 24 hours to fly from New York to London! And all that time over water? With no food or beverage? It’d be worse than flying in the Spirit of St. Louis! No, 600 mph. The 200 mph is merely the “rated” speed to get a million miles out of the fuel source, not the maximum. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/70 "2012-07-12T12:38:33Z")
I forgot to ask, **Skald** - does your ring enable spaceflight like its namesake? Because that takes it out of the realm of awesome to must-have, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/71 "2012-07-12T12:41:20Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or more specifically, if you try you end up with a replicated corpse. I have a modest proposal… ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/72 "2012-07-12T13:22:45Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I have a modest proposal… Oh, great. Now it’s gonna take all my willpower to resist asking the replicator to whip up a dead baby. Thank you so much. :mad: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/73 "2012-07-12T14:51:26Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I can’t recall a single replicator accident in Trek (unless you count the holodeck as a giant replicator with invisible marionette strings, which I wouldn’t). Just as the magnetron on your microwave oven won’t start unless the door is sealed, the replicator is surely going to have sensors to prevent such an accident. You say that, but my wife would still have nightmares about giving birth to a giant ear of corn. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/74 "2012-07-12T14:54:04Z")
I get to take the “Loophole” option. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/75 "2012-07-12T19:00:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I forgot to ask, **Skald** - does your ring enable spaceflight like its namesake? Because that takes it out of the realm of awesome to must-have, IMO. I’m going to rule yes and no. Yes in the sense that you could probably get into orbit, but since this isn’t one of those Threeboot rings that has the transparent spacesuit function built in, you’d be a fool to use it. Besides, where would you go? > [@terentii](#): > > A maximum airspeed of only 200 mph??? You didn’t read closely. The maximum airspeed is just under the speed of sound. The 200 mph figure was mentioned in saying how much fuel you have: enough to last about a million miles if you average 200 mph. > [@](#): > > At that rate it would take more like 24 hours to fly from New York to London! And all that time over water? With no food or beverage? It’d be worse than flying in the Spirit of St. Louis! I’ve already written that using the ring for transoceanic flights is ill thought. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/76 "2012-07-13T01:57:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A maximum airspeed of only 200 mph??? At that rate it would take more like 24 hours to fly from New York to London! And all that time over water? With no food or beverage? It’d be worse than flying in the Spirit of St. Louis! Well, yeah: even at 600 mph personal airspeed, I think I’d prefer to hop in a plane when traveling thousands of miles. Flying across the Atlantic, or coast to coast in the U.S., would be _work_, and if I could fly per the OP’s specs, I wouldn’t want it to become just another form of drudgery. ETA: I see the OP just reminded us that he was thinking along similar lines. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/77 "2012-07-13T03:14:26Z")
I am married to a Doper, but we also have a kid who’s fun to be around. Of course, he does have his own account now as well, so I guess we could have \*three \*flight rings… …but instead I think we should get three replicators. That gets us 15 years worth of free food…the money we save will buy a few plane tickets… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/78 "2012-07-13T07:09:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m going to rule yes and no. Yes in the sense that you could probably get into orbit, but since this isn’t one of those Threeboot rings that has the transparent spacesuit function built in, you’d be a fool to use it. I could wear a normal spacesuit and still use it, though, right? Maybe offer to test that new space activity skinsuit they’re developing? As to where to go, I think “Space” is all the answer I need. I _could_ reach the Moon a couple times over, but that would likely require more air than one person could carry, unless I did something _very_ clever with rebreathers and chemicals in my suit. Might be able to make a tidy profit on the deal - moon rocks are worth something like $1 million/half a pound. However, I can think of [other](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apollo_asteroids)[possibilities](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_distance_between_Earth_and_the_International_Space_Station) an easier flight away.. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/79 "2012-07-13T17:33:29Z")
Hmm, without the normal protections of the ring, even going at highways speeds at a hundred feet up is going to be a pretty harrowing experience. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899/80 "2012-07-13T17:58:54Z")
A note regarding the luggage problem with the flight ring: You know, you’d be saving a _lot_ of money on airfare, especially if you were willing to change transoceanic travel. It might be economical to pack a few expensive items (suit, laptop, etc) in a large backpack, and simply buy cheaper bits of clothing and other necessities at your destination. Round-trip airfare to Istanbul is about $1,500, for example - if I can fly for free, but need to drop a couple hundred bucks on clothing for a week-long trip, I call that a bargain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-a-legion-flight-ring-or-a-starfleet-food-replicator/627899.md?page=5)