

Metrecal - afriesh123
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrecal

======
zeteo
The original wingsuit:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt)

The original computer:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine)

The original steam engine:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile)

Just because something similar has been tried before doesn't mean the basics
are wrong.

~~~
aptwebapps
Well, to be picky, no one has made a wing suit that does what the Reichelt
hoped to do. The current version just lets you have some fun before you open
your parachute. Unless you want to count stuff like hang gliders.

~~~
Wingman4l7
If you mean a wingsuit that can let you fly all the way to the ground at a
speed low enough to land and survive -- then no one ever will. A wing that's
big enough to have those low speeds will tear off your arms.

Popular Science had an article in 2003 examining wingsuits and the futile
effort towards using them to land without a parachute, and they had a great
diagram illustrating the problem:
[http://web.archive.org/web/20030623234930/http://www.popsci....](http://web.archive.org/web/20030623234930/http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviation/article/0,12543,459355-3,00.html)

~~~
alemhnan
and yet they (somehow) managed to do that anyway:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRB-
woVjlFY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRB-woVjlFY)

~~~
Wingman4l7
> using a specially adapted wing suit before landing on a "runway" of 18,000
> cardboard boxes.

I think most people would agree with me when I say that doesn't really count.
=P

------
mtdewcmu
You could almost certainly live indefinitely on Boost or Ensure, because they
are essentially flavored versions of the same products used medically in tube
feeds. You could also simply drink tube feed, with or without flavoring.
Liquid nutrition is not a new idea in the medical field, and there are
numerous medical conditions that can make a person dependent on liquid
feeding. Clinical nutritionists are professionally trained in the management
of these regimens, and this makes up a lot of what they do daily in various
health care settings.

The accumulated knowledge about liquid diets in the context of health care is
undoubtedly vast.

~~~
hcarvalhoalves
> You could almost certainly live indefinitely on Boost or Ensure, because
> they are essentially flavored versions of the same products used medically
> in tube feeds.

I'm not sure you can claim that. Patients live off enteral diets for long
periods but in very controlled environments, and even then it's _still_ hard
to get right. For a fully functional person, going to work, going to gym,
being exposed to environmental stresses, and so on, to only live off Ensure
might not be feasible.

~~~
Maxious
"Metrecal and other similar products were pulled off shelves after the United
States government connected 59 deaths to liquid protein products"

~~~
mtdewcmu
I'm sure the problem with liquid protein is that they're concocted for weight
lifters, but over-zealous dieters use them as a substitute for food.

------
sowhatquestion
Soylent isn't a "diet" product. Therefore it contains 2400 calories, and
doesn't compromise on any macronutrients (fats, protein, carbs) for the sake
of creating a "diet" product. If you're looking for existing commercial
analogues, it's much closer to Ensure (for example).

That said, it's attracted quite a crowd of haters--who, it seems, would like
nothing more than for Rhinehart et al. to be repeating mistakes that would be
obvious to anyone who had done an hour of research on the history of
nutritional drinks...

~~~
datasage
I think skeptical is a more apt description, in part due to the claims made by
the company.

------
kitcar
Also see Abbott Ensure ( [http://ensure.com/products/ensure-
powder](http://ensure.com/products/ensure-powder) ) and Nestle's Boost - (
[http://www.boost.com/healthcare-
professionals](http://www.boost.com/healthcare-professionals) )

------
RachelF
A bit sobering, especially "F.D.A. WARNS DIETERS ABOUT LIQUID PROTEIN;
Commissioner, Citing 16 Deaths"

~~~
damian2000
Yeah I saw that too, anyone know what directly caused these 16 deaths?

------
coldcode
I took metrecal recovering from surgery as a little kid. Yuck.

