Mr. Nye did say you can go far — a 9.6 × 10³ rod set — if you eat but a wee urn of oat goo.

But is it so?

One cup of oat goo has 307 cal. It is not a lot. Say in 2 hr. you go as far as Nye did say. You use 700 cal per hr. to do it!

Say all you aim to do is see a bit of TV. You use 75 cal per hr. So the oat goo can get you the gas to sit and see "Her" or "Tin Cup" or "The Old Man and the Sea" but you can not get out or go to and fro. You can but sit.

If you eat raw oat goo, you are apt to say "meh." But if you add a bit of zip it can be a joy to put in the gob. To get 700 cal you use one cup. So to go as far as Nye did say you can, you add two.

So did Nye fib? Is it all a big lie? Yes and no.

An age ago, PhD men did try to see how far a fly, bee, rat, dog, or man can go per cal. One man put his pet in an O₂ rig to see it fly.

Out of all, a man on a BMX did the top job to go far per cal.

So Mr. Nye was a bit off, but it was not a big lie.

It is so.