Salty Beefy Silly Putty

it’s all just a bit nutty

Let’s say you’re in London, walking up Campden Hill Road, from Kensington to Notting Hill, drawn uphill by memories of the mythical fish & chips and sticky toffee pudding at Geales. Wearing a pair of Nike Air Force Ones, out of nowhere, you step in a pile of human feces on the street. For argument’s sake, let’s say the batch of steamy underfoot unloaded cigars started out in the BM-bandit as a Double Big Mac Happy Meal.

With the poo on your shoe, let’s explore the carbon footprint of your literal fecal-laden footprint…

THE SHOES ON YOUR FEET
producing 1 pair of Nike Air Force Ones = driving 128 kilometres

Components (main carbon footprint inputs)
Rubber soles (oil) + molded plastic supports (oil) + leather uppers (animals) + nylon mesh (oil) + spandex infused cotton laces (oil + trees) + cardboard shoe box (trees) + cargo ship across ocean (oil) + online shop (electricity = oil) + …

THE POO ON YOUR SHOE
eating 1 UK Big Mac meal = driving 8 kilometers

Components (main carbon footprint inputs)
Burgers (animals + oil) + Lettuce from Holland (transport oil) + pickles from Turkey (transport oil) + plastic Happy Meal toy (plastic=oil) + box & coated food wrappers (trees + oil) + french fries (SILLY PUTTY!) —

“Wait, really? There’s Silly Putty in McDonald’s fries?”

“Yes, Virginia, there’s Silly Putty in McDonald’s fries.”

Sometime in the mid-20th century, when George Jetson’s world felt inevitable, the FDA cleared dimethylpolysiloxane for culinary-use as an an…