From the National Geographic: “Cannibalism Study Finds People Are Not That Nutritious.” The bottom line: “While our ancient ancestors did practice cannibalism, eating other humans just couldn’t compare with taking down a mammoth.” In other words, any of us with ancestors who ate someone else’s ancestors probably did it for ritual reasons, not as a source of food. Just how many calories are in a human being, if you ate him / her from head to toe? The New York Times had a chat with the study’s author and he figures it’s about 125k, compared with about 3.6 mn from a mammoth (60 days’ nourishment for 25 people). The same group of 25 would have to eat two humans a day to stay nourished.

If you’re going to crack open a nice chianti and a side of fava beans, where should you start? “Dr. Cole found that human thighs come in at a beefy 13,350 calories, while the calves are about 4,490 calories. The upper arms are around 7,450 calories, and the forearms about 1,660 calories. Within the chest cavity beats a heart that is about 650 calories. There are also the lungs, which come in around 1,600 calories, and below them the liver sits at around 2,570 calories. The kidneys total about 380 calories together.”