Our bodies aren’t 100% efficient when it comes to nutrient absorption anyway, so considering there’s a number of other factors at play, it’s probably making minimal difference.

When we eat, the food added to our stomachs signals the large intestine (colon) to get a move on and make room for incoming food. Caffeine can help stimulate this response, but since most nutrient absorption occurs in the small intestine, we’re not really losing anything of value. There is some absorption in the colon, but that’s mostly water being removed so we can have formed stools instead of chronic diarrhea.

As someone who has experienced decades of poverty and chronic depression who is now finally in a more stable place, I’d be willing to trade certain other body parts if it meant I could have a do over on my teeth. As long as the pain isn’t life long, I’d get over it.

I’m self conscious about the way my mouth moves when I talk, how I smile or laugh (whether or not it’s worth the risk) and even how I chew. I’d be willing to be a test subject, because God knows what they’d charge if it works.

More that quicksand exists in known areas, people haven’t randomly offered me drugs, and thankfully I’ve managed to not have an accident involving fire.

But sink holes? Those fuckers open up wherever the hell they damn please and when they feel like it. Do I dwell on it daily? Of course not, but living in the Midwest my level of concern over sink holes is less than tornadoes, but definitely greater than quicksand.

When I was a child I thought my adult life would consist of avoiding quicksand, people offering me free drugs, and that at some point I would need to stop, drop, and roll.

As an adult instead I’ve developed the healthier fear that the earth would open up and swallow me into a crushing wet abyss. I know it’s only reported to have happened to that one guy who was sleeping and his bedroom disappeared, but that it happened once is confirmation that I could be next! 🫣