07/19/10 @ 10:06AM EST
posted by will

It's been a while since my last ridiculous food challenge. Too long. After last year's week of rations, it was proposed to me to eat nothing but carrots to see if I turn orange. This sounds like my kind of thing, but I refused to pay for the carrots myself, just like I wouldn't have paid for emergency rations.

More than a year later, people have agreed to sponsor me. For one month, I will eat at least 50% (by weight) carrots. Hopefully I will turn orange. The initial goal was 75%, but after yesterday, I realized it was nearly impossible to maintain a reasonable caloric intake, since a carrot only has about 30 calories.

Having been supplied with a balanced, I massed out each carrot in a 5 pound bag, and came out with an average of 100 +/- 20g. I will mass all of my food, and be sure that I eat at least that much in carrots.

Additional rules:
Every 12 fl. oz. of light colored liquid requires 1 carrot, or 6 fl. oz. of darker liquid. (Obviously excluding water.)
Carrot containing materials (carrot juice, carrot cake, etc.) are neutral and do not count towards food or carrots.
Final balance must be over 50% by the end of the day (when I sleep) and excess does not roll over.

The best way to do this would be to take a biopsy beforehand, and take a UV-Vis in DMSO, but apparently biopsies leave scars, so I'll have to settle for the less scientific method of comparing my upper leg (which never sees the sun) to a carrot over the course of the experiment.

[Photo: Flickr]

Why do I do this?
Will be so sick of carrots
Cheaper than burgers

Godspeed.

[Tags: food, food challenges]