Every now and then my mind wanders off on weird tangents during the day. Today it was about living on the moon.
The gravity at the surface of the moon is only about a sixth of what we feel on earth. You've probably seen pictures of the astronauts of the Appolo missions making slow motion jumps around the moon.
Now, imagine a colony that lived there for generations and generations. Anyone could jump, joints would not wear down so quickly, you'd grow up learning how to walk so that you didn't hit the cieling.
Then it hit me, if you were heavier, it would be easier not to bounce so high. Sure you could wear a weighted belt, but wouldn't it be easier just to be fat? Even if you were super sized you wouldn't weight all that much, meaning no foot or knee pain from being so big, no difficulties getting up out of chairs or standing up from the ground. It would still take effort to get that much mass moving or to stop it once moving, so there would still be some challenges to being that big. But especially if you had original colonists of a certain mindset, maybe moonies would take pride in their girth.
Going further, with the lower gravity fat would not cause as much droopage. Bellies would be more apt to stick proudly out forward rather than sagging. Even the most bountiful bust would be fairly easy to support. Thighs and upper arms would become round, but not roll over the elbows and knees the same way. Overall, fat people on the moon would probably look rounder than fat people on earth.
Of course, because moving around so much mass would not be as hard, it would not burn as many calories. So becoming fat on the moon would be easier (and more natural), and even those who were already very fat would probably not have much trouble gaining more if they wanted to do so. Probably the biggest restriction on mobility would simply be geometric, that with sufficiently fat thighs it is hard to walk, even if weight itself is not a big issue.
Hmmmm, I think my mind may wander back to this vision of a lunar colony some future days....
The gravity at the surface of the moon is only about a sixth of what we feel on earth. You've probably seen pictures of the astronauts of the Appolo missions making slow motion jumps around the moon.
Now, imagine a colony that lived there for generations and generations. Anyone could jump, joints would not wear down so quickly, you'd grow up learning how to walk so that you didn't hit the cieling.
Then it hit me, if you were heavier, it would be easier not to bounce so high. Sure you could wear a weighted belt, but wouldn't it be easier just to be fat? Even if you were super sized you wouldn't weight all that much, meaning no foot or knee pain from being so big, no difficulties getting up out of chairs or standing up from the ground. It would still take effort to get that much mass moving or to stop it once moving, so there would still be some challenges to being that big. But especially if you had original colonists of a certain mindset, maybe moonies would take pride in their girth.
Going further, with the lower gravity fat would not cause as much droopage. Bellies would be more apt to stick proudly out forward rather than sagging. Even the most bountiful bust would be fairly easy to support. Thighs and upper arms would become round, but not roll over the elbows and knees the same way. Overall, fat people on the moon would probably look rounder than fat people on earth.
Of course, because moving around so much mass would not be as hard, it would not burn as many calories. So becoming fat on the moon would be easier (and more natural), and even those who were already very fat would probably not have much trouble gaining more if they wanted to do so. Probably the biggest restriction on mobility would simply be geometric, that with sufficiently fat thighs it is hard to walk, even if weight itself is not a big issue.
Hmmmm, I think my mind may wander back to this vision of a lunar colony some future days....
