NationStates Jolt Archive


You don't need food to live.

Asbena
21-04-2006, 20:50
Solar Energy - NASA To Study Man Who Lives On Liquids And Light

Sydney Morning Herald
June 30, 2003

NASA to study man who survives on liquids and sunlight

June 30 2003

An Indian man, who claims to have survived only on liquids and sunlight for eight years, has been invited by NASA to show them how he does it.

Hira Ratan Manek - also known as Hirachand - a 64-year-old mechanical engineer who lives in the southern state of Kerala, apparently started disliking food in 1992, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

In 1995, he went on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas and stopped eating completely on his return.

His wife, Vimla, said: "Every evening he looks at the sun for one hour without batting an eyelid. It is his main food. Occasionally he takes coffee, tea or some other liquid."

Last June, scientists from the US space agency verified that Manek spent 130 days surviving only on water, the report said.

They even named this subsistence on water and solar energy after him: The HRM (Hira Ratan Manek) Phenomenon.

Mr Manek is now in the US to show NASA's scientists how he survives without food.

The US space agency hopes to use the technique to solve food storage and preservation problems on its expeditions, the report said.

Mr Manek said he "eats through his eyes" in the evening, when the sun's ultraviolet rays are least harmful. He and his wife claim the technique is totally scientific. However, doctors warn that staring at the sun can make you blind.

His wife said: "He has a special taste for sun energy. He believes only 5 per cent of human brain cells are used by most people. The other 95 per cent can be activated through solar energy."

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/07/07/surviving_on_a_diet_of_sunlight.htm

Hey everyone! You don't need to eat to live! This man is living proof of it.
I find it amazing, that the human body has this potential in it. ^_^
Khadgar
21-04-2006, 20:52
Shame we can't function that way in the real world.
Asbena
21-04-2006, 20:56
Shame we can't function that way in the real world.

Imagine if the whole world did this. No more food consumption. :)
Ifreann
21-04-2006, 20:56
Clearly staring at the sun has fried the man's brains. Sun energy activates the other 95% of the brain? I doubt it highly.
Jerusalas
21-04-2006, 20:56
No food?

What is life without food but a sordid attempt to drown our sorrows in sex and alcohol?
Khadgar
21-04-2006, 20:57
Lots of people wouldn't get enough light to survive though. City dwellers for instance.
DrunkenDove
21-04-2006, 20:58
This sounds familiar. There was a group that claimed to be able to live without food. Their secret was that they ate when nobody was looking.
Ramissle
21-04-2006, 20:58
Isn't that guy that bleeds nonstop from India too? And the guy who doesn't drink water ever? And that chick that grows copper on her face?

Hmm......
Ifreann
21-04-2006, 21:00
Isn't that guy that bleeds nonstop from India too? And the guy who doesn't drink water ever? And that chick that grows copper on her face?

Hmm......

Clearly Indians have a thing for the Guinness book of records.
Asbena
21-04-2006, 21:01
This sounds familiar. There was a group that claimed to be able to live without food. Their secret was that they ate when nobody was looking.

No it was verified that he lived on just water and sunlight for 130 days. He was watched and only them to survive on. Its real.
DrunkenDove
21-04-2006, 21:07
No it was verified that he lived on just water and sunlight for 130 days. He was watched and only them to survive on. Its real.

That's pretty impressive. I still feel sceptical, but that's mainly because "You don't need food to live" goes against every thing I've ever heard on the topic.

Edit: For good reason. Nasa seem confused about him. (http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2003/july/57637.htm)
Harlesburg
21-04-2006, 21:12
I actually tried to convince some foriegn exchange students from Japan that that was true, 'You don't need food to live' it didn't work but they almost believed me.
Asbena
21-04-2006, 21:16
That's pretty impressive. I still feel sceptical, but that's mainly because "You don't need food to live" goes against every thing I've ever heard on the topic.

Edit: For good reason. Nasa seem confused about him. (http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2003/july/57637.htm)

Weird. :o
Khadgar
21-04-2006, 21:25
Site is bogus, look at some of their other discoveries. Like I said, it'd be lovely if you could do that in the real world.
Harlesburg
21-04-2006, 21:28
Wow did someone actually bother to read that?:rolleyes:
Iztatepopotla
21-04-2006, 21:37
I'm always sceptical when it says "NASA tested this" and "NASA tested the other thing." I mean, NASA has better things to do, plus there are other more appropiate agencies to test claims such as this. Not that any would bother.
Grand Maritoll
21-04-2006, 21:39
Edit: For good reason. Nasa seem confused about him. (http://web.mid-day.com/news/world/2003/july/57637.htm)

And the truth comes out.

Either way, of course humans can survive without "food". Liquids alone can be used to survive, as drinks (other than water) can be used to provide any nutrient the body requires.