RealityMeltdown:
Jello is the pen-ultimate food.
Broken X23: When I want a dessert, jello is generally the last thing that comes to mind. Ice cream, cake, pie. All of these things I'd consider eating before jello ever crossed my mind. The reason for this is that the taste of jello is undesirable. It's a simple fact and one that you seem to have ignored.
RealityMeltdown:
I disagree. Jello is a very simple food. It's evenly consitant on the palatte, every bite is reliable. It's simple and straightforward. No hidden displeasing flavors. And the large array of flavors should be able to suit anyone, even the very picky. From orange to watermelon to lime, theres something for everyone.
Broken X23: There may very well be no hidden displeasing flavors, but unfortunately the flavors that aren't hidden are very displeasing. The number of flavors are irrelevant. I like some of the flavors (orange for example) but Jello's flaw is in the texture of the food, not the flavors. Orange may taste good, but unless it's supported by a central food product of similarly high quality, it's nothing. Think about it, would you eat orange flavored dirt? I wouldn't. Would I eat orange flavored ice cream? Most definitely. While not as unpleasant as dirt, jello in and of itself is simply too awkward a food, even with the support of it's multiple flavors. When I put a piece of jello in my mouth, I don't think, "this is good." I think, "what is this thing in my mouth that feels like it's trying to jiggle it's way down my throat? I haven't even swallowed. Why is it doing that?" I shouldn't be thinking that when I eat something.
RealityMeltdown: While the jiggling of jello may be disconcerning at first, it must be noted that it also adds to the enjoyability of handling this fine product. The ability to squish and splatter jello makes it as fun to use for other purposes as well as eat. Jello can be thrown, or mashed in playful jest at a close friend. It can be jiggled on one's hand, the fascination of movement enveloping one's senses. And you make another point, in that jello is easy to swallow. is it any wonder it's a food of choice in many hospitals nationwide? It can be swallowed with minimal effort in even the feeblest of patients. If jello is trusted and revered by doctors, wouldn't it then be a good addition to any household?
Broken X23: I'd like to take issue with your comments about jello being used in hospitals. Maybe I haven't been keeping up to date, but I'm pretty sure the only thing patients are fed in hospitals is apple sauce and vegetables. Secondly, even if it was used in hospitals, I don't think that proves that it's suitable for the consumption of regular, healthy people. That just confirms it's status as a special food to be used only in a certain context. In this case, that would be when the person is too weak to swallow regular foods. The amount of effort used to swallow regular food is a key factor in making sure that healthy people stay that way. When they swallow the food, it builds up strength in the mouth, jaw, and throat. Continued swallowing allows one to consume bigger and bigger objects. Jello hinders this vital progression and as such, should never be eaten by normal people.
Now, you also said that jello could also be used as a play thing and I have a hard time believing this as well. As a toy, jello is vastly inferior to the products made by toy companies who specialize in blob-like substances. Jello is extremely sticky and crumbles in your hand if you squeaze it too hard. Once crumbled, jello can no longer be used. Now compare this with Gak. You could pick up Gak and it would never stick to your hand or leave a big mess if you threw it on the wall. It could also be put back together again if broken apart. These are qualities that jello simply does not have.
RealityMeltdown: Jello, while useable in fun and playful ways, is certainly not intended to be a toy. However, it is easier to find, more convient, and certainly more edible than Gak. It is not dangerous to young children who have a high propensity to swallow various objects. However, it is not a specialty food, applicable only to the elderly, the young, or the feeble. It's a low stress food for anyone. I also feel you've overemphasized the importance of throat exercize. While proper muscle use is an important role in daily life, the jaw muscle is already the strongest muscle in the average human. Jello is also not to be eaten solely, as any food should be eaten in moderation, and no one food contains all the vital nutrients the body needs.
Broken X23: And because the jaw is so strong, does that mean we should just ignore it? That's like saying, "I have $100,000. That's a lot of money, so I'll never have to work again." No one who was the best at anything ever just sat down and stopped doing the thing they were the best at doing while they were still doing it. The same goes for the jaw.
Gak may not be edible, but that's not the point. We were discussing the alternative uses of jello, and I was simply saying that as an object to be thrown around and played with, it's been far surpassed by it's competitors. Sure, you can't eat Gak, but honestly, would you want to eat jello after having thrown it on the floor? There's no reason someone can't play with Gak while eating a steak. That way, you get the fun and the meal, just as you would with jello except that both aspects have been increased exponentially. I won't argue that children who have a habit of choking on things would be at less of a risk, but once again, the alternatives are far more attractive. Apple sauce or baby food are even easier to swallow than jello, and are far more nutritious.
RealityMeltdown:Eating jello hardly consitutes an entire diet, so adequite exercise is hardly an issue. Also, as a food stuff, Jello is easy and cheap to aquire. It's a cost effective food. Most families cannot afford to eat steak daily, as much as this food would work the mouth muscles. There is no need to worry about child safety with jello. Baby food and applesauce have the same consistency making jello a pleasant change of pace, teaching the child new stimuli, a prooven necessity for developing well rounded children.
Broken X23: But is teaching them to react to something like jello a good idea? I don't think so. There are so many other easy to swallow foods out there that you could use to add variety. Pudding, yogurt, and clam chowder for example. All of these taste better than jello and help to expand the child's horizons. My point is that jello is an outdated food that no longer needs to be eaten. Sure it may be cheap, but you get what you pay for.
RealityMeltdown:Simply "It tastes better" is hardly a reason. Even the fussiest child will likely respond favorably to some flavor of jello. Not to mention it's sweeter than yogurt or clam chowder, and thus more likely to be looked upon favorably.
Broken X23: But yogurt can be more easily customized to suit the needs of that particular child. Not sweet enough? Add some oreo cookies, chocolate syrup, or M & M's and the flavor goes through the roof. Sure, you can add things to jello too, but the possiblilities are much more limited. Studies also show that a majority of children (and adults too) prefer yogurt over jello. There may very well be someone out there who prefers jello, but the statistics indicate that that person would be in a minority. I know I can't state that yogurt tastes better for a fact since it all depends on individual tastes, but when I say that I believe yogurt to taste better than jello, there are going to be hundreds of millions who agree with me.
RealityMeltdown:Those studies were conducted under very limited circumstances. They misrepresented the majority of Americans, and humans worldwide. Yogurt cannot conclusively be found to be favored over jello. Also, jello is adaptable. Whipped cream, fruit, and other foodstuffs can be mixed into jello. Yogurt can have a variety of these same mixtures, but yogurt is still unable to be consumed by the lactose intolerant. Any chunks in jello also would be more dangerous for the younger ages, thus making many mixed of yogurt, indeed, any yogurt with any chunks mixed in, unavailable to this audience.
Broken X23: The lactose intolerant make up a very small percentage of our population. Small enough so that the impact of lactose intolerance on the overall consumption of yogurt is miniscule at best. Now, chunks should be of no concern to anyone. Most kids old enough to have developed teeth will have no problem chewing down any chunks that they find in their yogurt. As for the pre-teeth children, the parents should be smart enough to only feed them yogurt that has not been mixed with large chunks of food. On the other hand, jello itself doesn't need large chunks to be hazardous. Pick up a big enough piece and swallow too fast and you'll run a very high risk of choking. Yogurt is much softer than jello and therefore, does not have this problem.
RealityMeltdown: I disagree. Yogurt has a much thicker consistancy. Swallowing a large chunk is mroe likely to coat and adhere to the inner surfaces of one's throat, sealing off vital pathways. Even a large chunk of jello will break apart under minimal force. It would be highly difficult to kill someone with jello. One can count the lactose intolerant out, or the young, or the poor; but all these factors play into making jello an adapatable, available, productive food.
Broken X23: All it takes to clear your throat of any remnants of yogurt is a glass of water or other liquid. Considering how many people drink sodas or water while they eat yogurt, I don't think this is much of an issue. Now, when a piece of jello is lodged in someone's throat, where is the force needed to break it up into smaller pieces going to come from? You could wait for it to fall apart, but by then it could be too late. The only other options are abdominal thrusts or the use of a small pointy tool which would be guided down the victim's throat and used to break apart the jello. Not everyone has the knowledge required to perform abdominal thrusts, nor the tools necessary for the latter option. This makes yogurt a much safer bet for all but the lactose intolerant, and in their case, they can easily find a non-dairy based cold food as a substitute.
RealityMeltdown: Such tools are hardly the only options. A relativey small force could, indeed, be poking it, or abdominal thrusts. However, water would disolve the jello, being just as effective with jello as yogurt. So would coughing, the natural response to items in the throat. Coughing would easily disrupt the lodging of jello. Yogurt, however, would coat the throat, and induce more coughing, which can be painful on the lungs on the afflicted patient. Water may be necessary to allievate the irritation, unlike jello's ability to dissolve naturally with only saliva, time, or heat, all of which are present in the throat. Yogurt is far more liekly to be painful and lasting. Jello offers a wide variety of flavors, is accessible and affordable to most people on the planet. No clincally proven tests have shown prefrence for yogurt over jello; so it's also at least as well liked as yogurt based on current testing. Also, jello doesn't expire in the quick periods of time that yogurt will. Yogurt can spoil quickly, jello, in it's box, does not. It merely requires refridgeration after packaging, the same as yogurt. However, from the time of purchase to the time of consumption, it can live almost indefinately. Jello is an all around great food.
Broken X23: One can only cough if there is an airway open in one's throat. If you get a big enough piece of jello down someone's throat, there's a chance that it will completely seal off the airway and therefore make all options, except for the two I mentioned, unavailable. If someone's choking, getting to a glass of water could prove to be extremely difficult. There may not even be a source of water available. But even if there is, the jello would act as a dam in the person's throat, preventing the water from getting through and dislodging the jello. I'm also highly skeptical about your claims that yogurt can coat the inside of ones throat. I personally, have never had problems breathing after eating yogurt and I don't know of any instances where anyone else has either. The saliva in your throat ensures that the yogurt will not be able to stick to the sides and will have an easy time making it's way into your digestive system.
I notice that you've mentioned the low cost of jello several times during this debate. You have every right to do so as it is a low cost product, but I don't think you're presenting the whole picture. Yogurt and other dessert foods are cheap enough to be affordable to anyone who's making enough money to afford jello. Also, it takes time for yogurt to spoil. Most people will have eaten it long before that happens.
One other thing that I'd like to bring up in this debate is about the Jello company. I think that their past advertising campaigns have been distasteful at best. Using celebrities to sell a product is a cheap way to coax the average consumer into buying something. This creates a direct link in the buyer's mind between the celebrity and the product that in many cases, eliminates any desire in the consumer to question the quality of the products. As you probably know, a number of years ago Jello used Bill Cosby in many of their advertisments and I think this was a dishonest thing for Jello to do. Before this incident, though I didn't particularly like the food they were selling, I at least had respect for the company. Needless to say, that respect vanished when they started using celebrities to sell their desserts.
RealityMeltdown: The use of celebrities is certainly no worse than other forms of advertising. Yogurt most often uses attractive female models to sell their product. I, however, am able to distance the spokespeople from the yogurt. I'm not disgusted by their use of female sex appeal to sell a product that more resembles a sexual disease; it's a separation of marketing from product. they do not flasely advertise jello, they just have someone recognizable eating jello. Same as an attractive model.
Yogurt, by volume, is more expensive than jello. Struggling famlies, or even those tyring to pinch every penny for a better home, would be able to switch to jello over yogurt to get a bit more money every week. In fact, since jello won't spoil, they can buy in bulk, and simply store it until it's desired. Yogurt would spoil long before that. A full sized cup of yogurt is almost never sold in bulk, because so few people would buy it, they simply wont eat that much yogurt in such a short amount of time.
All your stated methods for removing yogurt would be as effective, if not moreso, with jello. And anyone with any air in their lungs can cough. Even chocking people can, albiet often feebly if caught on an exhale. The lack of lungs removes much of the pressure, however, there is always some. Else the lungs would deflate and be unable to expand and take in air. This ever-present air, then, can be violently pushed agaisnt the obstruction, allowing jello to wiggle out of the airway and back into it's long journey into the digestive tract. Jello is not threatening. It is affordable, has great variety, and all around fantastic foodstuff.
