by Casey Lynn

Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I was just reading an article in PC World about “geek cuisine,” which apparently means caffeinated drinks/candy. I’m not sure why geeks are the only ones who have trouble staying awake; I know just as many law students as programmers who are chugging red bulls at 2am.

In any case, I am a big supporter of, in particular, caffeinated mints. Every few months I put in an order at Chemical Evolution and it’ll last me for quite a while. There’s just nothing quite as convenient as a cup of coffee the size of a dime that tastes like an altoid (though for some reason caffeine sometimes scares people in this form… I’ve had a co-worker berate me that I may as well just be doing speed as she drank her third cup of coffee).

In this last order, however, I decided to try something new and different: caffeinated chapstick. I think that I’ve seen at least one other brand at some point, but the kind I’ve tried is Spazzstick, apparently developed by an Alaskan police officer. It comes infused with caffeine and in a variety of flavors.

The problem is, I have no idea if it works. It’s sort of like that cold prevention stuff that you take when you feel the first signs of illness–does it really make your cold shorter or is that just how long it would have been anyway? It’s not as if I’m going to replace my morning coffee with lip balm, so I’m really not sure if it’s giving me an extra buzz or not.

So have any of you tried any unconventional forms of caffeination? I know that there’s soap as well, but I’ve never tried it. It seems like that might be even more effective than chapstick, given sheer surface area of coverage.