Toothless castaway American aircrew

[drjbrennan]

I was told a tale by a lecturer many years ago, that a WWII American aircrew crashlanded on an island in the Pacific, recently vacated by the Japanese. They had plenty of water and food as there was a pineapple plantation on the island, so they sat back and waited for rescue. After six weeks, they were all healthy enough except they had lost all of their teeth due to the protein dissolving enzyme which is present in pineapple.

The enzyme bit is true enough, but did an aircrew actually become edentulous following their crash landing?

 

[rynner2]

The enzyme bit is true enough, but did an aircrew actually become edentulous following their crash landing?

And today's prize for the use of an unusual word on the FTMB goes to -


drjbrennan!

[Applause]

 

[drjbrennan]

Awww Shucks!

 

[Stormkhan]

I'm stunned with admiration at this word!
*Joins in with the applause!*

 

[zygmunt_rocks_on]

I saw this one on TV. The version I remember (IIRC) was British escapees from a Japanese POW camp. It featured in a science/documentary programme years back... probably in the 80s. Might have been BBCs much-missed 'QED'. I can't remember the main subject of the programme; I think the edentulousness of the soldiers was incidental, but I'm sure it really happened... there was a picture taken of their rescue after the war. in fact, the programme may have been dealing with the subject of enzymes...

Can't really see the beeb showing *that* on prime-time thursdays nowadays, can you?

 

[zygmunt_rocks_on]

I saw this one on TV. The version I remember (IIRC) was British escapees from a Japanese POW camp. It featured in a science/documentary programme years back... probably in the 80s. Might have been BBCs much-missed 'QED'. I can't remember the main subject of the programme; I think the edentulousness of the soldiers was incidental, but I'm sure it really happened... there was a picture taken of their rescue after the war. in fact, the programme may have been dealing with the subject of enzymes...

Can't really see the beeb showing *that* on prime-time thursdays nowadays, can you?

 

[Mythopoeika]

What about Pacific Islanders? Do they have some way of resisting the tooth rot? Or do they all become toothless at an early age?

 

[Stormkhan]

Nah! They all got bloody fed up of an all pineapple diet and would mug visitors for pickled onions, potatoes and lard.

 

[Anonymous]

There's a large pacific island population over here in upside down land. Maybe i should ask some of them if they've got falsies (teeth that is...)

 

[Stormkhan]

Or give them sticks of candy rock and tell 'em to eat it as fast as they can! Blood dribbling from the mouth might be a clue...

 

[Ali_Strachan]

The same story here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story ... 86,00.html

but in this case a shipwreck instead of an airplane crash leads to the pineapple pig-out

 

[Anonymous]

What about Pacific Islanders? Do they have some way of resisting the tooth rot? Or do they all become toothless at an early age?

nar they do as gaugan did and send letters demading tins of sardines.

 

[drjbrennan]

What about Pacific Islanders? Do they have some way of resisting the tooth rot? Or do they all become toothless at an early age?

I think this might be totally wrong but IIRC the pineapple isn't as widely distributed throughout the pacific as you might think.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I remember a Hawaii Five 0 epsidoe where they had toruble tracking down the criminals because they'd worked in a pineapple factory and so had no fingerprints. Danno booked them in the end but it was a tricky one.

If they'd teamed up with koala bears there would have been real problems sorting that one out