Robert Förstemann is a world famous track cyclist, who took up the challenge to use his legs to power a humble toaster. With thighs the size of tree trunks – 74 cm in circumference to be exact – it doesn’t seem to be much of a challenge at first. However, this video will change your mind.
We are constantly using electricity, whether it is by charging our phones and computers or by using household appliances, such as toasters. Have you ever thought about how much energy even a simple toaster uses? I hadn’t until watching this video, in which Förstemann pedals a stationary bicycle adapted to generate electricity in order to power a 700 watt toaster oven. Can he keep producing enough energy to run the toaster, for as long as it takes to toast a slice of bread?
The challenge was set up to illustrate how much energy we use in comparison to how much we can actually generate. The video ends with a message about how it takes one Robert Förstemann to toast a slice of bread, and would take 180 to power a car and 43,000 to power an airplane.
