European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                S8.s Filo oysters Are considered by Many to be an aphrodisiac. By John Lang Washington Post t s not True what they say about oysters. I ate a dozen last night and Only one of them worked. A if sex As everybody says is All in the head How come the Oyster does no to have one How on Earth did a creature with no brain Ever get mixed up with sexiness How could this ugly Lump which almost never comes out of its Shell which has a heart that throbs As slow As six beats a minute be associated with passion the Oyster an aphrodisiac through the Ages men have hoped so. Casanova ate 50 every night before setting out on his conquests. Napoleon ate generous helpings of oysters on the eve of his conquests too which May say More than any general wants known about the military impulse. Oysters were essential at any roman orgy. As Seneca wrote in an ode to an Oyster Quot All stomachs digest you All stomachs bless  what is it in an Oyster that could inflame the ardor or imagination of Mankind according to Lisa Lefferts staff scientist at the Center for science in the Public interest Quot its packed with nutrients. A half cup of raw oysters provides 750 percent of the recommended daily allowance of Zinc 12 percent of Vitamin b2, 8 percent of b1, 5 percent of Calcium and 46 percent of  does All that make oysters sexually stimulating the Center has no opinion. But few foods have Zinc and Iron in such High quantities. You d have to eat six cups of wheat germ to get that much Zinc and 35 Large prunes if you dared to get that much Iron. But try serving a plate of prunes to the one you desire and see who gets excited. It is True that if you Are Short of Iron your red blood cells Are too Small and there s not enough oxygen in your tissues so you feel tired and Short of breath. But there a no scientific evidence that a High Iron diet makes for extraordinary vigor. It just cures Iron deficiency. What about Zinc a Vitamin devotee might say that Zinc can heighten the senses. Quot no Quot says Bonnie Liebman the Center s director of nutrition. Quot people who have Zinc deficiency May have impaired senses of taste and smell. But its not necessarily True that getting More Zinc heightens those senses. Quot its not that Iron and Zinc offer any special benefits its that those nutrients Are sometimes lacking in the average american s  thus it May seem that the Oyster eater looks Good by comparison to the average american male who May be a Lousy Lover because his senses Are dulled and he s tired All the time. / or maybe its the sex life of the Bivalve that inspires knowing nudges. At a certain time of the year its sexual organs practically take Over its body. The female will discharge up to 100 million eggs in a single season. A neighbouring male stimulated by rising water temperature will Emit a billion sperm. A fertilized larva rides the tides for about two weeks then puts Down its single tiny temporary foot and attaches itself to something preferably another Oyster. Oysters even get Kinky. Most will change sex at least once in their lives. Typically an Oyster in american Waters starts out male becomes a female after one or two years and sometimes reverts Back to male again. For All its astonishing fecundity the Oyster does no to begin to match Lusty human appetites. People Are eating them to extinction. Once the term Oyster bar referred to their housing projects entire reefs of them that posed hazards to ships in the Chesapeake Bay. When the nation was Young oysters were so common that Only poor people ate them. In the past 100 years the annual Oyster Harvest in the Bay has fallen from 15 million bushels to 400,000 bushels. Overfishing pollution there Are now 70,000 measurable Man made chemicals in the Chesapeake Bay and a mysterious parasitic disease commonly called Max Are reducing Virginia and Maryland Oyster populations to the Point of commercial extinction. The Oyster really can to Breed fast enough to catch up. The basis for belief in the oysters sexual Efficacy is As murky As that other age old question about them who ate the first one science and reason have no answers. Obviously the Only Way to seek the truth of it is to consult with the Man who should know Best a local living legend philosopher trencher an and boatyard worker Muskrat Greene of Deale my. At 3 p.m., on july 6,1985, Greene became presumably the worlds leading authority on Oyster Power. He swallowed 288 of them raw. That a 24 dozen six pounds a consumed in one minute and 33 seconds. It absolutely embarrassed the previous global record four pounds forced Down in three minutes by a new Sealander. So Are oysters an aphrodisiac Quot what s an aphrodisiac Quot Greene asks. Told he looks dubious. I think it s hearsay. But i done to know whenever i go out around Here they lock up the  but what happened the night of the 288 oysters that must have made the pulse race the blood surge the breath quicken Quot mostly Quot he says Quot i Felt  Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes Friday june 1, 1990