Fletcher was the instigator of a fad for extremely thorough chewing. We are not talking about British Prime Minister William Gladstone's thirty-two chews per bite. We are talking about this: "One-fifth of an ounce of the midway section of the young garden onion, sometimes called 'challot,' has required seven hundred and twenty-two mastications before disappearing through involuntary swallowing." {More on chewing and the "oral device" in chapter 7.}
Fletcher is credited with popularizing an extreme form of chewing that goes far beyond the typical. Rather than the thirty-two chews per bite famously attributed to British Prime Minister William Gladstone, Fletcher's approach entailed an astonishing number of mastications. For instance, it took seven hundred and twenty-two chews to break down just one-fifth of an ounce of a specific type of onion known as 'challot.' This reveals the extent of his chewing obsession and highlights the astounding lengths to which he went for the sake of digestion.
Fletcher's method represents a significant trend in the understanding of chewing and its implications for digestion. His practices not only challenged the norms of eating but also suggested that more thorough mastication could impact health. The reference to such a precise number of chews emphasizes the meticulous nature of his approach, which is discussed further in chapter 7 of Mary Roach's book, "Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal." This exploration sheds light on the relationship between chewing and the digestive process.
