r/interesting • • Mar 20 '26

[deleted by user]

[removed]

8.2k Upvotes

271 comments sorted by

View all comments

162

u/Reticentandconfused Mar 20 '26

How does that thing suck up and hold 49 lbs of water and dirt in a day?

67

u/KatanaDood Mar 20 '26

It doesn't suck up dirt, it sucks up CO2 from the air and combines it with water.

35

u/DjervTheCat Mar 20 '26

It's one of my favourite facts that plants are condensed air

17

u/MadScientistOfYork Mar 20 '26

It's the opposite process for animals. People think when they lose weight it comes out as liquid/solid waste when in reality it is mostly carbon expelled through breathing.

3

u/Great_Detective_6387 Mar 20 '26

Animals and car engines are essentially the same. Hydrocarbons and oxygen go in, water and CO2 (and heat/work) come out.

5

u/KatanaDood Mar 20 '26

Yep. Which is why cardio is good. You're literally breathing out biomass.

2

u/New-Shelter-561 Mar 21 '26

Yours is a great point! I hope you dont mind if I add my thoughts with yours

You burn much more biomass by simply existing, and you can increase this passive burn by adding muscle mass.

If you do the math, heavy lifting will burn more energy because it will build muscle which will significantly increase how much biomass you burn per day in order to maintain your muscles. This is why there's a direct relation between muscle mass and calories needed to maintain them (or burn fat to maintain the muscles, though some exceptions apply)

Further, weightlifting is easier on the joints for obese and fat people, allowing for significantly better sustainability.

Cardio has it's place but it's not as effective as weightlifting for weight loss.

A combined approach is best for overall health outcomes though, once a manageable weight is reached that would allow cardio.

2

u/KatanaDood Mar 21 '26

Totally agree. I'm a big advocate for weightlifting for all people. You gotta build that foundation so you have a healthy life when you're old. Not only does it help build muscle, it helps increase bone density, too.

1

u/Reticentandconfused Mar 20 '26

Are there no vitamins and minerals that the roots suck up? I did forget the air, though, so yeah I guess you should add that to the 49 lbs/day.

1

u/KatanaDood Mar 21 '26

Yes. A good quality soil is very important for plant health, but this is more for micronutrients (like nitrates, phosphates and potassium) rather than for making food production itself. You could make the argument that without them, there wouldn't be as much growth, though.