Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Do you want a water back?




The first President to attempt a liquid diet was William Howard Taft who was induced to start the diet by noted fraud and cereal maker John Harvey Kellogg of Battlecreek Michigan. He got the rotund chief executive to follow his fad diet because of his fear that the vigorous Theodore Roosevelt would best him in the up coming presidential election where the former president ran under the banner of the Bull Moose party. Since President Taft often enjoyed eating an entire moose at a sitting he decided to follow the diet where he would eat no solid food but simply consume liquids. The principally consisted of a thin consume, Saki and smoothies made from rotting fruits and hard boiled eggs. President Taft did begin to see positive results as he lost eight pounds in the first week. Which was not in fact unusual as he lost as much every time he went to the bathroom. Since the effect of this diet was to confine him to the bathroom it was not unexpected that he would loose the weight. He had to have a specially designed potty chair created for him for Cabinet meetings as he could not always make it to the bathroom in time to void his liquidy bowels. The diet almost cost him his marraige as his wife was outraged that he dropped weight faster than she did and she threatened to divorce him if he didn't let her win. Fortunately for America and his marriage he lost the election and could go back to consuming an entire calf at lunch and end his frivolous pursuit of a fad diet that ruined his Presidential campaign and his nuptial bliss. He never had a smoothie again.
(What's That Smell, The History of the Fad Liquid Diet, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, General Mills Press 2011)

6 comments:

Chuck said...

If i could have a new john built into my chair at my new desk, I think that would be awesome!

Michael Haz said...

AA (the organization, not the blogger) is filled with people who tried the liquid diet and it ruined their lives.

AllenS said...

Always remember, there is the nutritional equivalent of a pork chop in every beer.

ndspinelli said...

AllenS, are you intimating beer is not kosher?

windbag said...

If i could have a new john built into my chair at my new desk, I think that would be awesome!

Close enough.

Chip S. said...

Closer.

"Go away, I'm 'batin'!"