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Army rations rehydrated by urine |
axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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Would you eat food cooked in your own urine? Food scientists working for the US military have developed a dried food ration that troops can hydrate by adding the filthiest of muddy swamp water or even peeing on it.
The ration comes in a pouch containing a filter that removes 99.9 per cent of bacteria and most toxic chemicals from the water used to rehydrate it, according to the Combat Feeding Directorate, part of the US Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts. This is the same organisation that created the "indestructible sandwich" that will stay fresh for three years.
The aim is to reduce the amount of water soldiers need to carry. One day's food supply of three meals, weighs 3.5 kilograms but that can be reduced to about 0.4 kilograms with the dehydrated pouches, says spokeswoman Diane Wood.
The pouch - containing chicken and rice initially - relies on osmosis to filter the water or urine. When two solutions of different concentrations are separated by a semipermeable membrane, with gaps that allow only water molecules to pass through, the water is drawn to the more concentrated side.
Hungry Soldier
The membranes are made of thin sheets of a cellulose-based plastic, with gaps between the fibres that are just 0.5 nanometres across, too small for bacteria to pass through.
A hungry soldier pours dirty water into one end of a foil sachet containing two inner pouches separated by the membrane. The water seeps through the membrane into the dehydrated food on the other side. As it dissolves large molecules in the food, it creates a very high concentration solution. The osmotic pressure created then draws more water through the membrane.
Hydration Technology of Albany, Oregon, which makes the membrane, says soldiers should only use urine in an absolute emergency because the membrane is too coarse to filter out urea.
The body will not find this toxic over the short term, says Ed Beaudry, an engineer with HTI, but rehydrating food this way in the long term would cause kidney damage.
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[ This Message was edited by: axxxr on 2004-07-23 04:27 ] |
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kimcheeboi
Joined: Dec 19, 2003
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From: Abducted by hot blondes to Les
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:o
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Sammy_boy
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
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From: Staffordshire, United Kingdom
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I think that's taking the piss. 
Sorry, couldn't resist that one!
I think you'd have to be quite desperate to pee in it - even if it is safe to eat, no one likes the idea of eating something they've just 'pissed' on.
"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
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batesie
Joined: Feb 13, 2004
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From: London, UK
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if there wasnt a better reason not to join the US army (apart from gw bush) there is now!
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Linkinpark17UK
Joined: Jan 27, 2002
Posts: 372
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Pissing on your food, hmm, I wonder if you still have to wash your hands before you eat.  |
axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
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From: Londinium
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Quote:
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On 2004-07-23 09:22:49, batesie wrote:
if there wasnt a better reason not to join the US army (apart from gw bush) there is now!
<p>
<i>This message was posted from a P900</I>
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[addsig] |
Krubach
Joined: Dec 05, 2002
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From: Sunny Portugal! :)
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Posted: 2004-07-23 05:26
