h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Live Monkey Brains - Lunch Or Legend - A24828591
Author: SWL™ - U1775547

A tasty wee number?

Another interesting Entry from good ol' Strangeness Without Limits (TM)

Oh good lord! Well, it IS well written. And interesting, in a way.

In fact, I'm reminded of the guy who was shocked to see monkey brains and also human brains on a menu. He was slightly mollified to see that at least the human brains cost more. The waiter said, 'yes, that's because it takes so many of them to make a full plate.'

(ahem, sorry)


I understand that the story may be completely apocryphal but the entry itself should not be so. In order that the entry doesn't remain completely at sea without an anchor, you might try to flesh this sentence out if possible.

>>However, live monkey brains have been described in Chinese culture for over a thousand years<<

ie, is it described in literature, in folklore, in art? If nothing else can be made definite, perhaps this can be - it's a small point, but I think it will make an improvement.

Bon appétit!

Nice little story, I've never heard of that before. Seems I've led a sheltered life so far.
I'm with paily, any source you could give would definitely be a bonus.

Couple of sources thrown in

Hi SWL,

Good to see you've researched this thoroughly, but you can stop watching that Italian film, now.

I remember a few years ago the Queen visited Malaysia or the Philippines (or somewhere) and there was conjecture in the press over whether she would be served live monkey brains, so I'm sure it's still happening. I'll search for the story when I get a moment.

Icy

*Puts on pedant's hat*

Actually the brains eaten in ...Temple of Doom were chilled and very much dead.

Only due to the numerous re-takes I believe

OK I found a couple of references you might find interesting:

***

An interview with Paul Burrell in the Derby Evening Telegraph, June 24, 2000, entitled "I once hid in the Queen's wardrobe".

.... During visits abroad Paul and the other staff were treated to sumptuous banquets.

"In line with local customs we were encouraged to sample the more acquired taste of delicacies - the most memorable being sheeps' eyes and monkey brains served on banana leaves," he said. ....

***

From Flex Magazine, June 1, 2006: "Fact ... or fiction? The truth behind 10 of bodybuilding's strangestlegends"

MYTH #6: Steve Michalik ate monkey brains.

True.

In going public with his psychological addiction to bodybuilding drugs, Michalik made some outlandish claims. The craziest of all is that he ate monkey brains for the purpose of elevating his growth-hormone levels. Michalik recently confirmed this legend with FLEX.

In the early '80s, he acquired dead monkeys from pre-med and pre-veterinary students and ate the brains (sauteed with garlic) in an effort "to extract the hormonal fluid from the pituitary gland and hencegrow like a gorilla." It didn't work as planned. He goes on to say, "I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless you want to experience some weird growth in places." (We'll leave that comment alone.)

Fresh monkey brains top the list, but they have a lot of company on the roster of bizarre foods bodybuilders have swallowed in a quest to elevate anabolism. Some physique champs of lore ate animal testicles; glandulars made from dehydrated bull testes were once popular supplements.

***

Other snippets I found:

It's a Cameroonian speciality.

The Associated Press (US) reported in 1985 that a restaurant serving fresh monkey brains is a scene from the notorious video nasty "Faces of Death".
***

HTH, Icy

When I first went to Greece in 1982, Breaded Brains was quite a normal item on the menu in restaurants, but I never found out what animal was used for the brains. I haven't seen it on the menu there recently, perhaps because the tourists never eat it.

Mr Dreadful is right. The Indiana Jones brains were described as "Chilled Monkey Brains" and served in a decapitated monkey head with the top removed. Not quite what the Entry is about.

Dead animal brains are a common dish in France, too. Maybe not exactly common but you can often find some in supermarkets. Usually it's beef or veal though, nothing exotic (I think I've seen lamb too).

See http://www.cooking2000.com/fr/dossier/tripier-cervelle.htm

And it isn't served on live animals, either.

Ugh. It's a sad fact that whatever disgusting, cruel and/or amoral act you can possibly think of, someone, somewhere, has done it. I can easily believe this.

Nice entry by the way

Double Ugh.

Well done SWL

Surpassed yourself this time - Nothing to add except perhaps Leo won't mind my entries so much now

Extra info added

Very good - I'm not sure what else you could legally add

Agrees

Nasty! Really, really nasty!

One or two queries:

Just wondered if you'd considered using 'Food for Thought?' for one of the headers/sub-headers.

Intro 2nd line: (How about 'new and extraordinary' or something similar?)

Fact or Fiction 4th line: [18th-Century]

Fact or Fiction 6th line: <("Casual Chat on Mantuolou's Veranda")> Single quotation marks... please.

Fact or Fiction 8th line: [that refers to]

Hello there,

From an Editorial Policy point of view, this really needs a content label (a warning) as it could cause upset.

Additionally, can you point to any actual stories where this is described?

Thanks!