Elizabeth Miller wrote:
>
> In a message dated 7/25/02 11:09:30 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> << They were spread about
> during the war to promote the "we are different and
> superior" mythos.  >>
>
> Did the Japanese want to be better carb eaters?

Yes. I still hear this from my students on occasion.


 Did they claim to make more
> amylase? Curious thing to brag about.


Not specifically amylase. All sorts of gross anatomical
changes are claimed to make them superior, an extra 6 feet
of gut, is one I recall. They claim they are better able to
digest plants than westerners. Why exactly they think this
makes them superior, I am not sure, it may tie in with
traditional buddist beliefs, or they may just imagine
themselves better adapted, more civilised? These things only
need to make the most superficial sense to the true
believers...like Americans nattering about the virtues of
democracy, or Germans who swallow the "pure race" line.