"Should I eat this?" - librarian edition
July 22, 2016 11:11 AM   Subscribe

In the Mansfield Library of the University of Montana, librarians discover some cold war rations, produced in 1962. Their reaction was to eat them. “I took a taste of one [of the survival biscuits]; It’s like a stale graham cracker with a hint of vanilla in it. It could be far worse.” Making your own food time capsule? A few suggestions.
posted by Wordshore (17 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Their reaction was to eat them.

Can we make them, like, honorary MeFites?
posted by Naberius at 11:20 AM on July 22, 2016 [7 favorites]


Do not eat librarians if they've been left on the counter overnight
posted by crocomancer at 11:26 AM on July 22, 2016 [4 favorites]


Can we make them, like, honorary MeFites?

Just because they eat old food? Then we'd have to include other ration reviewers (previously, twice). Or is it they're librarians who eat weird food?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:27 AM on July 22, 2016


I feel like somehow all librarians should be (at least) honorary MeFites.
Or maybe they already are?
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:29 AM on July 22, 2016 [5 favorites]


Can we make them, like, honorary MeFites?

That would require them to throw away perfectly good food.
posted by Karaage at 11:31 AM on July 22, 2016 [3 favorites]


Ah, they're keeping Missoula weird. Not like they need help, though.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:31 AM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]


No No No! Do not try this at home!

I did this in the Army back in the 90s. Found a crate of 1950s K-rats on base. Immediately did the stupidest thing and started chowing down. Mostly great until I bit into The Biscuit from Hell. While the outside of TBfH looked just peachy, the inside was this black oil, mushroomy, Lovecraftian, slimy horror bomb. It was like the thing that exists where Dick Cheney's heart is supposed to be. It tasted like ashes, undeath, and the absence of all things good. I couldn't taste anything but that for about two days. I feared that I'd broken my mouth forever.

No No No! Do not try this at home!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:31 AM on July 22, 2016 [25 favorites]


I love the librarians' chutzpah, but ooh, your story made my stomach roil, Abehammerb Lincoln.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:57 AM on July 22, 2016


I too have eaten of the Civil Defense Survival Crackers and the Carbohydrate Supplements, AMA.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 11:58 AM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]


I want to say I originally saw this here, but... Man eats 1863 American Civil War Hardtack. He has a YouTube channel if you're a gastronomic sadist.
posted by the painkiller at 12:07 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]


Can we make them, like, honorary MeFites?

I used to work there and know Suzanne. I'll let her know she is being summoned because of her gustatory fortitude.
posted by ikahime at 12:47 PM on July 22, 2016 [6 favorites]


@save alive nothing that breatheth - Did you survive the civil defense after eating the crackers?
posted by Deeleybopper at 12:58 PM on July 22, 2016


I've gone back to puzzle and delight over this one a few times, wherein a group of, like, Russian scavenger hillbillies find (?) a can of meat from 1940 in fighter jet wreckage (?) in a pond (?) and open it up. One of the few words they say that I can understand is "botulism."

Anyway, they eventually produce a slice of bread (?), generously smear the meat on it with a giant spoon, and all take a bite.
posted by dirtdirt at 1:02 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]


The University I attended had steam tunnels criss-crossing the entirety of the campus and, of course, my buddies and I regularly explored them. There were several caches of old Civil Defense stores down there. Shelter biscuits, cans full of hard candies (carb supplements), and a few actual medical supplies including big bottles of phenobarbital pills.

I still have the water-ration barrel I rescued during one of the explorations. Makes a great trash can.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:28 PM on July 22, 2016


Ft. York in Toronto sells hardtack in their gift shop. Salt would have improved it.

Matzah is essentially the same thing, but tastes much better.
posted by brujita at 3:52 PM on July 22, 2016


@save alive nothing that breatheth - Did you survive the civil defense after eating the crackers?

Ayup, all the bottles, some broken, of expired medication were cleared out by the time I was in there, and I did not attempt to operate the X-Ray machine.

The one I was in was in a church/parochial school basement. With the Cold War over a decade gone and government maintenance of the stores long-neglected, the parish tried to call up the government to get them to clean up their mess, but they were pretty much told LOL FUCK OFF so it was up to volunteers.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:29 PM on July 22, 2016


The University I attended had steam tunnels criss-crossing the entirety of the campus and, of course, my buddies and I regularly explored them. There were several caches of old Civil Defense stores down there. Shelter biscuits, cans full of hard candies (carb supplements)

University I attended hired a bunch of us to clear out several caches of old Civil Defense stores. This was back in the seventies. Danger over, I guess. We did not eat any of it, though I did save a small collection of thermometers.
posted by BWA at 4:43 PM on July 22, 2016


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