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+--- Thread: George Washington invented instant coffee (/thread-718.html)
George Washington invented instant coffee - David Guyatt - 20-01-2009
Yup, it is absolutely true, Geoge Washington invented Instant Coffee.
That is George C Washington, an English chemist living in Guatemala who noticed a powdery buildup of residue on the spout of his favourite coffee pot. Today real coffee is brewed as normal and then left to evaporate, leaving a concentrated solution. The concentrate is frozen to -40 degrees Celsius causing the remain water in the concentrate to freeze into ice crystals. There is also a second method, spray-drying.
Why is this important you ask?
Well, it seems that drinking too much instant coffee makes you see ghosts.
I kid you not.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090113/tuk-caffeine-linked-to-seeing-ghosts-45dbed5.html
Caffeine Linked To Seeing Ghosts
Tuesday, January 13 11:59 pm
Sky News
A daily caffeine fix may help you through the afternoon slump - but it may also cause you to see ghosts. Skip related content
Research suggests people who drink more than seven cups of instant coffee a day have an increased tendency to hallucinate.
High caffeine users may even think they sense non-existent people, according to researchers from the University of Durham.
They studied 200 students who were asked about their typical intake of caffeine products.
Those who had a high caffeine intake were three times more likely to have the heard voice of someone non-existent than "low" users who consumed less than one cup of instant coffee or its equivalent.
Seeing things that were not there, hearing voices and sensing the presence of dead people were among the experiences reported.
Besides coffee, caffeine can be obtained from sources such as tea, chocolate, "pep" pills and energy drinks.
However, the hallucinations are not necessarily a sign of mental illness. Around 3% of people regularly hear voices, the research said.
The ability of caffeine to exacerbate the effects of stress may be behind the study's findings, scientists believe.
When under stress the body releases the hormone cortisol which is produced in greater quantities after consuming caffeine, possibly leading to hallucinations.
Dr Charles Fernyhough, the co-author of the study, pointed out that the research only showed an association between caffeine intake and hallucination proneness, not a causal link.
"One interpretation may be that those students who were more prone to hallucinations used caffeine to help cope with their experiences," he said.