A calorie is the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius.
The term calorie as it is used in regards to food is actually a kilocalorie, the amount of energy required to raise a kilogram of water one degree.
The FDA recommends eating 2000 kilocalories per day. How much is that? It's enough to raise 1 kilogram of water 2000 degrees, or 2000 kilograms 1 degree. Let's see what that means.
A typical bathtub holds about 60 gallons.
A gallon of water weighs about 8.35 pounds or 3.79 kilograms. So, 60 gallons of water weighs 227.4 kilograms.
2000 divided by 227.45 is 8.79.
So, we eat enough food each day to raise the temperature of 8.79 tubs of water 1 degree. Or one tub of water 8.79 degrees.
Except wait, those are Celsius degrees.
10 Celsius degrees are 18 Fahrenheit degrees. 8.79 Celsius degrees are 15.8 Fahrenheit degrees.
So, we eat enough food each day to raise the temperature of a tub of water 15.8 Fahrenheit degrees.
Hmmm. What about indivual foods?
A 12 ounce can of Coke contains 140 calories. Remember, food calories are kilocalories.
So, a can of Coke contains enough energy to raise a kilogram of water 140 Celsius degrees, or 250 Fahrenheit degrees. That's more than enough to bring a pot of water from freezing to boiling and evaporate it away.
Wow. Our bodies use a lot of energy!
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