The 1993 book Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants explored the oft-stated theory that the real catalyst behind the industrial revolution was caffeine -- specifically the kind you get from guzzling coffee. Author Wolfgang Schivelbusch’s premise is that when 18th-century families ditched cold brews (yes back then it was a beverage for the whole clan, regardless of age or heavy machinery usage) for hot cups of Joe, western civilization went into hyper-productive mode.
A billion tall, non-fat, half-caff, caramel drizzle lattes later, we took a jittery-eyed look at several highly-effective entrepreneurs’ java ingestion. How does yours match up?
Elon Musk, two cups a day
The insanely busy Tesla and SpaceX founder drinks just two cups per day. But Elon Musk’s mocha moderation wasn’t always so. The CEO has said that his caffeine intake included an unhealthy amount of Diet Coke back in the day, but nowadays he’s canned the Diet Coke cans altogether.
David Lynch, seven cups a day (when brainstorming)
The awesomely odd auteur’s caffeinated characters who populate his fictionalized town of Twin Peaks made a “damn good cup of coffee” cool way before Starbucks became STARBUCKS™.
Said the celluloid scientist of his secret sauce in a past interview, “I [used to eat] at Bob’s Big Boy. I would go at 2:30, after the lunch rush. I ate a chocolate shake and four, five, six, seven cups of coffee -- with lots of sugar. And there’s lots of sugar in that chocolate shake. It’s a thick shake. In a silver goblet. I would get a rush from all this sugar, and I would get so many ideas! I would write them on these napkins. It was like I had a desk with paper. All I had to do was remember to bring my pen, but a waitress would give me one if I remembered to return it at the end of my stay. I got a lot of ideas at Bob’s.”
Peaks Freaks can take what they will from the fact that Lynch wrote at a restaurant called “Bob’s.”
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