Now in a bizarre attempt to discover the roots of super-sized American fare, two scholars have turned to the New Testament's Last Supper. Their findings, in the International Journal of Obesity, indicate that serving sizes have been heading heavenward for 1,000 years.
They analysed 52 different versions of the Last Supper, painted over the last thousand years. Using the size of the diners' heads for comparison, they checked the sizes of the plates in front of the apostles, the food servings and the bread on the table. Assuming the heads did not increase in size during the second millennium AD, the pair gauged how much the servings had increased.Seems the apostles painted in the Middle Ages are the ascetics they're said to have been. But by 1498, when da Vinci completed his masterpiece, the party was in full swing!
Over the centuries, the food on the plates has grown by 70%, and the bread by 23%. As food portions grew, so did the size of the plates - by 65%.
How this can be "spun" to reveal the origins of American overeating is anyone's guess...but it no doubt justified someone's research grant!
PS: 18 April 2011 - Meanwhile, have Christians been celebrating Easter on the wrong date?
1 comment:
This is very interesting. I've seen too many Last Suppers already but I didnt notice it. Guess I need to look closely next time.
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