Thursday, October 06, 2011

Fletcherize

According to some blog, my last name can be turned into a verb to describe a specific ritual of mastication.


fletch·er·ize

[flech-uh-rahyz]
-verb
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly; prolonged chewing


"This word is an eponym derived from Horace Fletcher, an American food faddist and dietician who lived from 1849 to 1919. From 1895 until his death in 1919, Fletcher campaigned vigorously and passionately about what he believed were the keys to good health. This included:
  • Eating only when hungry—never out of boredom, from anxiety or unhappiness
  • Thoroughly and deliberately chewing each mouthful until the food turned into liquid (i.e. chewing approximately 32 times per bite)
  • Excessive chewing also allowed the food to mix with saliva, which was an important part of the digestive process. Because of this, Fletcher maintained that even liquids needed to be “chewed” properly.
He must have been a pretty good salesman; known as The Great Masticator, Fletcher convinced millions of Americans to abide by his chewing regimen, including Henry James, Mark Twain, Upton Sinclair and John D. Rockerfeller. When Horace Fletcher died in 1919, he died a millionaire, much of that monetary success due to popularity of fletcherism."

DUDE. Apparently this health-crazed thing runs in the family. Stone - you would be proud. 

Now go "Fletcherize" your next meal. 32 bites at a time. Enjoy!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How HILARIOUS!
It ceases to amaze me where you find your pictures!
I really believe in the Fletcherism BUT it takes extreme focus AND a lot more time to eat. I do think eating to fast and too much is probably the cause of many things that some might say:"Ail us".
Should we Fletcher's have a challenge to see who can try it for one week, and report on the success of it?

Fletch said...

I will take the challenge and report on it next week!

Daniel said...

Hmm. I'm unsure how I feel about signing up for the challenge.

On the other hand, I do remember receiving almost identical indoctrination or illumination at my mother's knee (or at least dinner table).

Congrats for finding this delicious fodder. To be candid, I'm sad to confess I doubt I will read it 31 more times.

Anonymous said...

You failed to mention:

Fletcher had a special interest in human excreta. He believed that the only true indication of one’s nutrition was evidenced by excreta (Fletcher 142). Fletcher advocated teaching children to examine their excreta as a means for disease prevention (Fletcher 143). If one was in good health and maintained proper nutrition then their excreta, or digestive "ash", as Fletcher called it, should be entirely "inoffensive". By inoffensive, Fletcher meant that there was no stench and no evidence of bacterial decomposition (Fletcher 145).

So the moral of the story is Fletcher's excreta smells sweet?

Daniel said...

+1 Anon.