TIL that Germany created synthetic butter from coal during WW2. It was described as nutritious and of agreeable taste. - eviltoast
  • 9point6@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    124
    ·
    3 months ago

    Holy shit, one kilo of butter from 60kg of coal?!

    That’s some pretty spenny butter for “agreeable taste”

    • RBG@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      28
      ·
      3 months ago

      “The Germans preferred Ersatz.”

      (Or at least that’s how I remember that quote from Catch-22 when I read it 25 years ago…)

    • eleitl@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 months ago

      You might be surprised what the material and energetic footprint of dairy is.

    • reksas@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      3 months ago

      i wonder how much emissions turning coal to butter creates. Maybe we should turn world’s coal to butter so planetkillhappy bastards cant burn it.

      • 9point6@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        3 months ago

        Given it seems to generate 59kg of waste product, I don’t think it is going to be that great for the environment

          • NateNate60@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            3 months ago

            It would probably be some synthetic American government cheese-like product.

            Which I’m sure if the Germans had come up with it and not the Americans would also be described as being nutritious

        • chaogomu@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          That “waste product” isn’t just thrown away.

          They’re still hydrocarbons. Which are used in other places or burned for fuel… Which isn’t actually all that great for the environment…

          Actually, tossing the waste product in a pit might be better, environmentally speaking.

    • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      You don’t have to waste the other hydrocarbons when you crack something. You just use em for something else or burn them for power. Though the flare towers in refineries prove me wrong to a degree.