Trivia: Coffee in International Commerce

is this trivia? seems more like a fact.

Well, caffeine isn’t quite the same thing as fuel. It contains no potential for energy. People just think it does. (Pretty much the first thing mentioned in the Caffeine Facts posting.)

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When I was a grad student, I read that an economist was awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on the link between technological advancement and national prosperity. I pointed out to my lab-mates that:

1. Scientific and technological advancement is driven by the work of graduate students in our many universities.
2. Grad students subsist on a diet largely consisting of ramen noodles and coffee.
3. Our nation’s prosperity depends on a continuous flow of new technologies.

It was clear to me that the “fuel” of prosperity, Ramen noodles and coffee, are vital materials, and that we should take steps to ensure their uninterrupted supply. Therefore, I proposed that the U.S. invade and annex Japan and Brazil.