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How Important Is Coffee?

How important is Coffee?


  • Total voters
    211
Coffee (and chocolate) is poisonous to dogs - and therefore very likely to Vargr, though their larger mass will mitigate the effects considerably, perhaps no more than an upset stomach and a case of the trots. Still, one can imagine a bit of a diplomatic row erupting from a Vargr diplomat being offered a cup of coffee.:rofl:
I'm inclined to guess, at least as regards to caffeine, that it's the difference in body mass that makes coffee 'toxic' to dogs; it simply takes much less of it to harm a dog because they're typically so much smaller than us.

The LD50 for caffeine is roughly equivalent to 40 cups of coffee in one sitting for a typical human. Scale that down to a 25-pound dog (or an 8-pound cat, for that matter) and it's pretty easy to see how a cup or two of the stuff could be problematic for them.

But a 50kg Vargr? Not really a problem -- except for the fact that you started out with a Vargr in the first place, and now you've got one that's bouncing off the walls to boot.
 
:) I'm in East Yorkshire on the coast, south of Scarborough. Thirsk and the whole area around is nice (the Moors), I hope you got to York.
 
I'm inclined to guess, at least as regards to caffeine, that it's the difference in body mass that makes coffee 'toxic' to dogs; it simply takes much less of it to harm a dog because they're typically so much smaller than us.

The LD50 for caffeine is roughly equivalent to 40 cups of coffee in one sitting for a typical human. Scale that down to a 25-pound dog (or an 8-pound cat, for that matter) and it's pretty easy to see how a cup or two of the stuff could be problematic for them.

But a 50kg Vargr? Not really a problem -- except for the fact that you started out with a Vargr in the first place, and now you've got one that's bouncing off the walls to boot.

I'm not sure on that. Your scaling suggests that a 25 pound dog ought to tolerate a cup of coffee, when in fact it would leave you cleaning up the messes left by your discomfited and unhappy pet. However, the image of a Vargr bouncing off the walls in a caffeine-induced manic fervor is amusing enough that I'd think seriously about substituting that instead. Makes me think of that squirrel from "Hoodwinked".
 
I'm not sure on that. Your scaling suggests that a 25 pound dog ought to tolerate a cup of coffee, when in fact it would leave you cleaning up the messes left by your discomfited and unhappy pet. However, the image of a Vargr bouncing off the walls in a caffeine-induced manic fervor is amusing enough that I'd think seriously about substituting that instead. Makes me think of that squirrel from "Hoodwinked".

Or the squirrel from Over the Hedge. Or Agatha Heterodyne from Girl Genius.


Hans
 
:) I'm in East Yorkshire on the coast, south of Scarborough. Thirsk and the whole area around is nice (the Moors), I hope you got to York.

We probably drove through your town then, as we drove down the coast following the Trail of Captain Cook. I did my US Army time in Alaska near Anchorage on Cook Inlet, first explored for the Europeans by Captain Cook and Mr. Bligh. I locked the keys of our rental car in the car in Whitby, and as it was a rental, had to call the local Bobbies to get the car open. After the officer spent 15 minutes unsuccessfully trying to get it open, I asked if I could try, and I had the car open in 30 seconds. The look on his face was priceless. I think that he though I was a professional car thief.

To give Tea equal time, I will post some data on tea imports into the UK and elsewhere. After all, many of the US clipper ships were built for the tea trade from China to the UK and elsewhere.
 
For those who prefer tea, here are some Tea consumption and export figures, taken from the same source as the coffee data. The author was a man after my own heart when it came to gathering data. That entire book is filled with data like this on international trade in agricultural commodities.

The immense traffic in the produce of this simple shrub, the growth of a remarkable country, hitherto almost entirely isolated from the western nations, is one of the most remarkable illustrations of the enterprise and energy of modern commerce. The trade in tea now gives employment to upwards of 60,000 tons of British shipping, and about ten millions sterling of English capital, producing a revenue to this country of nearly six millions sterling.
Every reflecting man will admit that articles of such vast consumption as tea and coffee (amounting together to more than 343,500 tons annually), forming the chief liquid food of whole nations, must exercise a great influence upon the health of the people. . . .

The first tea imported into England was a package of two pounds, by the East India Company, in 1664, as a present to the king; in 1667, another small importation took place, from the company's factory at Bantam. The directors ordered their servants to "send home by their ships 100 pounds weight of the best tey they could get." In 1678 were imported 4,713 lbs.; but in the six following years the entire imports amounted to no more than 410 lbs. According to Milburn's "Oriental Commerce," the consumption in 1711 was 141,995 lbs.; 120,595 lbs. in 1715, and 237,904 lbs. in 1720. In 1745 the amount was 730,729 lbs. For above a century and a half, the sole object of the East India Company's trade with China was to provide tea for the consumption of the United Kingdom. The company had the exclusive trade, and were bound to send orders for tea, and to provide ships to import the same, and always to have a year's consumption in their warehouses. The teas were disposed of in London, where only they could be imported, at quarterly sales. The act of 1834, however, threw open the trade to China.

From a Parliamentary return, showing the quantity of tea retained for home consumption in the United Kingdom, in each year, from 1740 to the termination of the East India Company's sales, and thence to the present time, it appears that in 1740, 1,493,695 lbs. of tea were retained for home consumption. Two years afterwards, the quantity fell to 473,868 lbs., and in 1767 only 215,019 lbs. were retained. Next year the amount increased to 3,155,417 lbs.; in 1769 it was 9,114,854 lbs.; in 1795, 21,342,845 lbs.; in 1836, 49,842,236 lbs. . . .

In 1836, the uniform duty of 2s. 1d. per lb. on all descriptions of tea was imposed, which, with the additional 5 per cent, imposed in 1840, made the total duty levied per lb. 2s. 2d. and a fraction.

During the years from 1831 to 1841, in spite of an increase of nearly three millions in the population of the country, and notwithstanding the impetus given to the tea-trade by the abolition of the East India Company's monopoly in 1833, the increased consumption was only 6,675,566 lbs. Great as the increase has been of late years, however, it is very far short of what we might expect to see were the duty reduced to a moderate per centage on the value of the article as it comes from the Chinese merchant. In Jersey and Guernsey, where there is no duty on tea, the average consumption is 4½ lbs. per head per annum. The same rate for the United Kingdom would require an annual importation of nearly 150 million lbs. I asserted, many months ago, if the duty could be gradually reduced from its present exorbitant amount to 1s. per lb., the revenue would not suffer much, whilst the comfort of the people would be much increased, and our trade with China greatly improved. . . .

The consumption of tea in the United Kingdom may now be fairly taken at fifty-four million pounds yearly, and sold at an average price to the consumer of 4s. 6d., per pound. The money expended for tea is upwards of twelve millions sterling. [Edit Note: This would have been as of 1854.} . . .

The tea imported into England in 1667 was only 100 lbs., while for the year ending June 30, 1851, the export from China to Great Britain was 64,020,000 lbs., employing 115 vessels in its transportation; and to the United States, during the same time, 28,760,800 lbs., in sixty-four vessels. Within the last five years, the export has increased 10,000,000 lbs. to the United States, and 17,000,000 to Great Britain. These statistics will show the immense importance of this article to commerce, and the vast amount of shipping it supports. But let us follow out the statistics a little more in detail.

Note the number of vessels engaged in the trade. These would have been the very fast tea clippers, built for the tea trade. The clippers were some of the fastest sailing cargo vessels ever built.

Note also the very high import duty charged. The tea imports were a major source of revenue to the British government. Traveller GM should be taking note of this, along with those engaging in detailed world descriptions. Import duties can be quite lucrative for a government, as it amounts to a hidden tax.
 
With a few temporary exceptions, prior to 1913, the U.S. Federal government operated primarily off revenue from tariffs on imported goods and excise taxes (on popular goods like guns, tobacco, alcohol, and, IIRC, margarine). Individual taxation required a constitutional amendment (and corporate taxes were very limited).

As written, Traveller rules do not directly support Imperial duties or other taxes for interstellar trade.

Doesn't rule out local duties. IMTU, member planets are not allowed to charge duties and taxes (directly) on goods in and out of starports - as the primary purpose of the Imperium is to support interstellar trade. The Imperium government operates off revenues from banks and assets transferred by member systems. (Caffeine helps 'stimulate' the economy in other ways!)
 
With a few temporary exceptions, prior to 1913, the U.S. Federal government operated primarily off revenue from tariffs on imported goods and excise taxes (on popular goods like guns, tobacco, alcohol, and, IIRC, margarine). Individual taxation required a constitutional amendment (and corporate taxes were very limited).

As written, Traveller rules do not directly support Imperial duties or other taxes for interstellar trade.

Doesn't rule out local duties. IMTU, member planets are not allowed to charge duties and taxes (directly) on goods in and out of starports - as the primary purpose of the Imperium is to support interstellar trade. The Imperium government operates off revenues from banks and assets transferred by member systems. (Caffeine helps 'stimulate' the economy in other ways!)

The margarine excise tax was strongly supported by the dairy industry. Up to the early 1960s, margarine sold in Wisconsin could not be colored yellow to distinguish it from butter. I can remember bringing yellow margarine to relatives living in Wisconsin when we visited from Illinois.

In my Traveller Universe, import and export duties are allowed. One of the benefits of being a noble is the ability to import a certain amount of a specific good duty-free for resale. Rather than having a "land fief", he or she has a "money/commercial fief".
 
Ironic - suspect some butter makers use coloring (annatto at least) in butter, just like cheese makers.

The acceptance of margarine, at least from my experience at the grocery store, would lead me to believe that synthetic foods would be just as acceptable in a Traveller setting as real food, maybe even more so (seems to be more margarine for sale).

Personally I prefer real butter. I also prefer real milk in my coffee vs. manufactured sweeteners.
 
Ironic - suspect some butter makers use coloring (annatto at least) in butter, just like cheese makers.

The acceptance of margarine, at least from my experience at the grocery store, would lead me to believe that synthetic foods would be just as acceptable in a Traveller setting as real food, maybe even more so (seems to be more margarine for sale).

Personally I prefer real butter. I also prefer real milk in my coffee vs. manufactured sweeteners.

Hmmm, with respect to butter verses margarine, I remember a man interviewing Julia Child once, and he asked her how much she used margarine instead of butter in her recipes, and I thought that she was going to have a stroke on the spot. She stated very emphatically that she NEVER used margarine in her cooking, butter in moderation, but always butter. I much prefer butter to margarine.

I also like real milk or cream in my coffee. The best stuff was the Jersey Cream that I could get in England. Marvelous stuff.
 
Long-haul truck drivers who drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks are significantly less likely to have an accident than their uncaffeinated peers.

Australian researchers looked at data on 530 drivers recently involved in a crash, comparing them with 517 who had not had an accident within the past 12 months. All were driving tractor units with one, two or three trailers.

The researchers interviewed all the drivers, gathering information about various health and lifestyle issues, including caffeine consumption over the past month, the British Medical Journal reports.

After adjusting for age, driver experience, distance driven, hours of sleep, naps, night driving and other factors, they found that drivers who consumed caffeine were 63% less likely to be involved in a crash.


A 63% reduction in road accidents is huge, enormous. It has taken thirty years and cost billions to cut road accidents by as much as coffee can to in the twinkling of a spigot.
 
The US Military runs on coffee. The following comes from STAFF REPORT ON COFFEE ROASTING OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 1 OCTOBER 1952. At that time, the Army bought green coffee beans and did all of the roasting and processing itself. It also handled the purchasing and processing of coffee for the Air Force.

Coffee is a major item of the military ration which cannot be successfully substituted for any extended period. It is the only major item of the ration that is not indigenous to the United States. The military departments, from September 1950 through August 1951, purchased 193,665,000 pounds of green coffee. This represents purchases approximating 100-million dollars, or about 7 per cent of the average annual United States imports of green coffee for the past 3 years. Of this amount, approximately $67,000,000 was spent by the Army, $32,000,000 by the Navy, and $3,000,000 by the Marine Corps. The Army also purchased during 1951 approximately $10,000,000 of soluble coffee for use in combat and emergency type rations. Not included in the above figures are the purchases of brand-named coffees in 1-pound vacuum-packed cans or of soluble coffees for resale to authorized patrons of military Commissary Stores. During 1951 the military services consumed an average of 8,500,000 pounds of roasted coffee monthly.
 
The US Navy destroyer I was on for slightly over 4 years had a number of coffee pots constantly in use. Mess Desk, Officers wardroom, Chief Petty Officers Mess. Some departments had their own coffee pot in their offices. 300 Officers and Crew. All of us drank coffee, and lots of it.

My dad was in the US army, and he told me they ran through lots of coffee in a week. The cooks could make bad desserts, but woe to them if the coffee was bad.
 
Been loving watching "Antenna TV", its a retro TV station that plays old sitcoms and one of my favorites in "Barney Miller". I would say that almost a third of the dialog is about coffee.

images


Of course most of it is about Detective Nick Yemana's coffee

images


"Soo was cast in his most memorable role in 1975 on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller as the laid-back, but very wry, Detective Nick Yemana, who was responsible for making the dreadful coffee the entire precinct had the misfortune to drink every day."

http://youtu.be/gq59T2_rfNQ

Cheers c(_)
 
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