Mixing
How long would it take for Earth to be eaten to its core?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?
Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?
Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.
Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.
Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)
Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.
Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.
Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)
food alternate-earth
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?
Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?
Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.
Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.
Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)
Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.
Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.
Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)
food alternate-earth
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
2
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
1
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
5
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?
Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?
Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.
Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.
Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)
Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.
Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.
Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)
food alternate-earth
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?
Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?
Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.
Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.
Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)
Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.
Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.
Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)
food alternate-earth
food alternate-earth
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
edited 5 hours ago
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
asked 6 hours ago
TheAsh
243210
243210
2
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
1
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
5
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
2
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
1
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
5
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago
2
2
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
1
1
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
5
5
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
accepted
2100 - 2500 years
Assuming
- An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day
- A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family
- Lifespan of 100 years
- Three generations per century
- 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:
They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.
Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?
If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/
PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.
Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
accepted
2100 - 2500 years
Assuming
- An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day
- A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family
- Lifespan of 100 years
- Three generations per century
- 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
accepted
2100 - 2500 years
Assuming
- An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day
- A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family
- Lifespan of 100 years
- Three generations per century
- 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
accepted
up vote
3
down vote
accepted
2100 - 2500 years
Assuming
- An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day
- A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family
- Lifespan of 100 years
- Three generations per century
- 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2100 - 2500 years
Assuming
- An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day
- A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family
- Lifespan of 100 years
- Three generations per century
- 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
answered 4 hours ago
Guillermo
461
461
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:
They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.
Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?
If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/
PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.
Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:
They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.
Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?
If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/
PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.
Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:
They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.
Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?
If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/
PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.
Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:
They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.
Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?
If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/
PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.
Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
edited 4 hours ago
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
answered 5 hours ago
Bald Bear
4,534518
4,534518
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f128202%2fhow-long-would-it-take-for-earth-to-be-eaten-to-its-core%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
2
Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
5 hours ago
1
With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
5 hours ago
@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago
5
Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago