h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A616565

Hello - I was startled to find that there is no entry in the Guide for caffeine (just coffee, mountain dew, and some other stuff), and so I decided to write about how exactly caffeine does what it does.

The entry's gone for a round in the Writing Workshop, and at this point I think it's complete and ready for inclusion in the Edited Guide. If you find anything I missed, please let me know, and I'll be sure to include it - any input is appreciated

This looks a good and professional article. The sort of thing I would expect to find in the edited guide. I think it should deffinately get in.


bsmith

Thanks for your vote of confidence

Hopefully the scouts (and the ed. board) will feel the same way.

Cheers

I like it.

It might be worth mentioning the medicinal properties of caffeine as well. It as long been used as an adjuvant in migraine medications (for acute treatment, not for prophlyaxis). Because of it's stimulant effects, many people with untreated ADHD self-medicate themselves with caffeine. Because of it's mild bronchodilating and pain relief effects, some people also self-medicate with caffeine for asthma or pain control. Theophylline, an asthma drug that used to be used commonly in children, is closely related to caffeine.


Mikey

I assume that the mechanism in caffeine used in headache relief and bronchodilation is the vasodilation effect (the same mechanism that causes the diuretic effect)?

Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with ADHD, and so I don't think I'm qualified (yet) to connect ADHD and stimulant treatment, although I do know that one of main drugs used for treatment - Ritalin - has a stimulant effect of people without ADHD.

Thanks for the extra info

Ritalin and caffeine are both stimulants (alternatively called psychostimulants). Both people with and without ADHD have been shown to react to stimulants with improved focusing ability/attention span. As people with ADHD are starting with a lower baseline focusing ability/attention span, this change is more noticeable (and more useful) in them. The primary advantagew of Ritalin over caffeine in terms of stimulant therapy for ADHD are that Ritalin (and it's derivatives) is stronger, has a slightly different side effect profile, is available in an extended release form (i.e., slowly released into the body throughout the day), and the dose can be more precisely calibrated by doctors.

Being that they are both stimulants, they are both also used sometimes for weight loss (as appetite suppression is one of the side effects of stimulant use).


Mikey

There we go - the entry has been updated. I knew I'd get around to it sometimes

Again, thanks for all the information (it's been placed under 'Positive Uses of Caffeine', logically enough).

Very good indeed.

The double quote marks should be replaced with single ones. Apart from that, I can't see anything wrong. (Although I have been drinking , so my attention span may have been affected ).

There is a great Edited Guide Entry on tea - http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A61345 - edited by DNA, and linking to a superb animation by Spirit. It'd be a good idea to link the reference to tea in the opening line to that Entry, especially as you have a link for coffee.

(Rushes off to make more )

I`ve found a entry on coffe if thet helps http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A1675

The reference to tea I was thinking of is actually in the fourth line. I've obviously had too much .

Quotes are fixed, tea is linked. Thanks for the entry, Paul, but it was already linked

Cheers

Very good article, very worthy of being Edited

A couple of minor additions (both of these coming from personal experience ):

- Drinking substances with caffeine seems to make you have to urinate all the more quickly.
- It has been said that if you use caffeine while studying for a test, you should take the test on caffeine as well so as to put yourself into the same mindset as when you were studying.

That's true -- caffeine is also a diuretic (i.e., encourages fluids to rush out of your body via the urinary tract). This is why caffeinated drinks are not a good choice if you're actually feeling thirsty -- they can actually dehydrate you more than they hyrdate you.


Mikey

Cheese and Mikey: there's already a mention of caffeine being a diuretic right at the start of the Entry! See footnote 2.

Dihybrid, thanks for fixing the quotes and the link to the Entry. I'm just a bit surprised that you didn't link from the first reference to tea in the Entry, which is in the fourth line, next to where you've got the link to the coffee Entry.

Oh, LOL...Ormondroyd, we're obviously running at different screen resolutions - I _did_ link from the tea reference in the fourth line...but I'm running at 1280x1024.

Ironically enough, I was wondering why you said to link from that reference instead of the first one.

Cheers

In future, if I pass on suggestions like that to anyone, I'll stick to referring to 'the third paragraph', 'the fourth sentence' or whatever.

Anyway, it's fixed now. Thanks!

So I suppose now I just wait and hope that my article is eventually recommended by one of the Scouts?

That's about the size of it, Dihybrid. There is a rule among the Scouts that we don't recommend any Entry until it's been in Peer Review for at least a week, just so that people have a reasonable opportunity to read it and make comments and suggestions. So this Entry will become eligible from early next week.

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'Caffeine'.

This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review Forum because your entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

You can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.h2g2.com/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

See? Told you so!

Congratulations, Dihybrid! (Raises in salute)