ralkor,M.D. tells it like it is

[giza]

 
"...an average human male can walk 3500/100*2.2*0.918*3.78 = 267 miles on a gallon of fat...superior to the mpg a Prius gets on unleaded gasoline."

Comments

[sagejackal.livejournal.com]

I would imagine one could go even further with a bike.

[atpaw.livejournal.com]

Correct - the bicycle remains the most efficient form of transport we humans have invented to date, in terms of overall energy efficiency. :)

[zeeth_kyrah]

Speed and maintenance are the problems, really. Temperature must be kept within a narrow survivable range or functional bits will start to fail. And I walk at an average 3mph (20 minutes per mile) because going faster for any real distance (longer than 1/4 mile) just makes me sore.

On a bicycle, I double that speed, or faster if there are no hills (going downhill just means an uphill return route).

In a car, I can go as fast as I like, road conditions and law enforcement providing.

[kellic.livejournal.com]

Yes but does an average human male have a line in port for a portable music player? o.O

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Let's see. 267 miles? We'll be lame and say 250. And let's say an average person can move 25 miles in a day. That's 10 days to walk 250 miles.

How much food will be needed? How much water will be needed? A person could survive 10 days without food if they weren't exerting themself. But 10 days without water? While on a forced march?

Methinks the doc is leaving out some important parts of the equation just to make it look the way he wants it to.

[firedhusky.livejournal.com]

So, we start using people as fuel !

i like it :)

[scs-11.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm.... how many pound-miles per gallon do the two of them get? I suspect on a pound for pound basis, they might be pretty equal.

[skippyfox.livejournal.com]

Of course most human beings also don't weigh two tons and accelerate at 58 horse-power.

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Also, human muscles build up lactic acid a lot faster than car engines build up whatever it is they build up.

[cloudtiger.livejournal.com]

You know what else has been pondering me lately?

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?