When I was a kid, I was given a book to read called ‘The Fattypuffs and The Thinifers’. It was written in 1930, and was a story about a pair of siblings that find an entrance to a hidden world, buried miles beneath the surface of earth. This world had two races, namely, the Fattypuffs and the Thinifers.
The Fattypuffs were a race of fat, happy people, who’s main, almost religious like belief was that one ‘lives to eat’ and enjoys himself.
The Thinifers on the other hand, were a race of skinny, mistrusting people, whose main, also religious like belief was the complete opposite. One ‘eats to live’ and no more.
Both races were on the verge of war with each other.
Although completely fictional, it does have many commonalities with the current times, where more often than not, city folk live to eat and enjoy themselves while doing so (although I’m hoping we don’t go to war with people on a diet).
Food Is A Lifestyle Choice
Families use it as a time to bond, to celebrate a birthday, a promotion, a marriage and any other type of quality family time. Students and working executives use food as an excuse to meet with friends, to date, to study and even to gossip about the boss. Businessmen take clients to nice restaurants to cement a good business relationship, to propose a new deal or to sign on an old one.
Dining out has become a lifestyle choice in the modern age and people are happier for it.
What Would a Caveman Do?
It’s 10,000 B.C. I’m hungry. I pick up my spear, grunt and shout at a few of my clan members, put on a Mammoth coat and we go out for a hunt. What we catch, we eat. If we don’t catch anything, we go hungry. We eat enough to keep us alive. Nothing more.
You don’t see many cave paintings showing cavemen sitting around a fire, with a mug of Mammoth milk in one hand, eating a second helping of deer or buffalo, laughing and singing the night away just because they could.
It’s 2008 and I’m hungry. I pick up my handphone, grunt and shout at a few friends, put on a T-shirt and we go out for a hunt. A hunt for the nearest restaurant that is, where we sit around a table, a teh tarik in one hand, eating a second helping of satay, laughing and sometimes even singing the night away. Because we can.
What Happened To The Fattypuffs And Thinifers?
They go to war.
The Thinifers win and absorb the Fattypuff kingdom into their own. Many soldiers of the occupying army of the Thinifers begin to marry Fattypuff girls, and return to their homeland with affection for the country that they conquered. The Thinifers begin to adopt Fattypuff cuisine, habits, and attitudes. Consequently, the Thinifer president proclaims that the two peoples form a new nation, the United States of the Underground.
King Plumpapuff, the former king of the Fattypuffs, is made sovereign of this new nation, while the Thinifer president is made his chancellor. All distinctions by weight are abolished.
The siblings make it back to their own world and everyone lives happily ever after.
The moral of the story? It’s going to become a Fattypuff world anyway, so you might as well go out, eat and be merry.
Daniel Tan, 3 years ago
hahaha what a moral of the story. But hoh won’t the kids of thinifer and fattypuffs be FIT? taking the best of both what. XP
fark.my, 3 years ago
Live To Eat, Not Eat To Live?…
When I was a kid, I was given a book to read called ‘The Fattypuffs and The Thinifers’. It was written in 1930, and was a story about a pair of siblings that find an entrance to a hidden world, buried miles beneath the surface of earth. This world …
William, 3 years ago
Daniel: actually that’s a good point… well maybe if they come out with a book 2 someday all the people in it will be fit and healthy.
And of course love their food…