The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-06-12
HUMAN ENGINE THE BEST.
He is More Efficient Than ANY SO far In
vented.
Ncws amd (0nrier.

human body is better and more eff
cicnt machine for the production Of
energy than any engine yet devised by
nan is the striking conclusion reach
eo by an investigation in which Gov
ernment experts have recently been
engaged. They have found that it
will yield more power fer g given
amount of fuel than the best steam
engine or oil engine, and from this
viewpoint is decidedly superior to any
mechanical contrivancc of the kind
constructed up to date. Whereas the
most economical steam engine dcliv-
ers in actual horse power only about
13 per cent of the total hcat-value of
the fuel supplied, 6rst-class athlete
produces nearly 3G per cent, or nearly
three times as much.
These conclusions have been reach
ed by painstaking study Of bicyclcrs
engaged in six day race, the experts
being present at the track during the
entire time Of the contest, taking
turns from day to night, and weighing
and analyzing every morscl of food
consumed by three of .he riders.
One Of the contestants, who was the
winner, was found to have done with
in the first twenty-four hours work
equivalent to lifting 10000 pounds
distance of one foot. More strikingly
stated, it was equal to lifting 1926
pounds (nearly two tons) to height
of one mile.
That human being was capable of
producing such an enormous amount
Of energy in 80 short time had not
previously been imagined. It gives o
better notion than ever before enter
tained Of the wonderful efficiency Of q
man in good health and muscular con-
dition, considered merely as an engine.
Previously Profs. Atwater and Rosa
had shut up in a large box rider on
stationary bicycle, which was belted
to small dynamo, the work done be-
ing determined by measuring the cur
rent of electricity obtained. AS q re-
suit the man, who was not practical
athlete, was found to have developed
energy equal to 81 per cent of the
total fuel-value Of the food he ate,
but it is obvious that much better
record would be likely to be made by
an exceptionally powerful Individual
engaged in race where large money
prizes furnished an incentive to effort.
The average work Of an ordinary
laborer has been determined by tie
experto to be equivalent to raising
S,GG0, 900 pounds to the height Of one
foot, or, to put it otherwise, it is
equal to lifting one pound to height
Of 1872 miles. But the work done by
the winner Of the bicycle race in
question during the first twenty-four
hours Of the contest was about ten
times this amount, and may be con-
sidered as representing the utmost
possible achievement of tho human
engine. Though 2,OO7 miles were
covered during the six days and
nights, the man lost only pounds in
weight during the contest, and, not
withstanding la,k of sleep and excess
i've fatigue, his condition at the end
was seemingly as good as at the be-
ginning.
The study was made, under the
auspices of the department Of agricul-
ture, by chemists who have been en-
gagged for some time past in special
Investigation Of the value of varioue
foods for nourishing the human body
and stocking" it, so to speak, for
work in the capacity of an engine.
Certain foods, as has been ascertain
ed, (such as beefsteak and beans) go
chiefly to the making of music and
blood, while others (such as bread i,
potatoes and sugar. are serviceable as
fuel. Special opportunities for useful
observations along three lines were
afforded by the bicycle races, in which
men of extraordinary physical strength
and endurance were to stain their
powers to the utmost, and hence the
interest which was felt by the experts
in watching the contest from their
own point of view.
Inside the track, along one of the
straight sides Of the huge oval, was q
level space about ak feet wide, por-
tion of which was assigned to each
rider, and here his food and drink
were brought and handed to him. The
chemists occupied places in this space,
with balances aud other apparatus for
weighing and aampling the foods con-
veniently at hand. Most of the nour-
iahment vaa administered in q l;nn;1