Tag Archives: songs

A Musical Buffet Puzzle

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milkshake

I’m not sure mine brings all the boys to the yard. Oh, well.

It’s true that beans are the musical fruit, but other foods make their way into songs all the time. Take as evidence the lyrics listed below. Can you name the song title and artist (or in one case, the name of the musical) for each song? If you can get nine out of ten (and the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie), consider yourself a winner.

  1. Sucking on chili dogs outside the Tastee Freeze…
  2. Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain, / Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
  3. Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer / Well good god almighty, which way do I steer?
  4. Have some more yogurt, have some more Spam / It doesn’t matter if it’s fresh or canned.
  5. You are my candy girl / And you got me wanting you.
  6. I’m gonna give you / Apple and plum and apricot-a too, eh!
  7. Try the gray stuff. It’s delicious. / Don’t believe me? Ask the dishes!
  8. A bottle of white, a bottle of red / Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead.
  9. In February it will be / My snowman’s anniversary / With cake for him and soup for me!
  10. I love you like a fat kid love cake.

Don’t scroll down or click “continue” until you’re ready to see the answers!  Continue reading →

Foods for the Agony and the Ecstasy

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emotionalstrawberry

Is this strawberry purely happy? Or is there something else behind its smile?

This morning as I was running (or more accurately, as I was stumbling squelchily along in the extreme humidity), I was listening to a story on the Snap Judgment podcast. (By the way, if you don’t know Snap Judgment, stop reading this right now and go listen to some episodes. I’m serious. Go. Now.)  The story was about a song from the 1930s that was immensely popular, but was supposedly so unbearably sad that it was eventually banned on BBC Radio because of its links to cases of suicide. The song was called “Gloomy Sunday,” or, less formally, “The Hungarian Suicide Song.”

I should admit that I did not find the song unduly depressing, but I did find the idea intriguing. And it made me wonder: could a similar phenomenon be found in food? That is, could something you eat (independent of, say, your personal memories of that food) make you much happier or much sadder?

The internet is rife with lists and articles claiming to know the “Top Ten Foods That Will Make You Happier!!!!” I approached them with a great amount of skepticism, but was a little weirded out by how closely they mirrored my typical lunch choices. Suddenly, all of those tofu soups (relaxes the muscles) and avocado sandwiches (contains serotonin) made me feel like I might have a substance abuse problem. Incidentally, is this why I enjoy the company of my co-workers? Anyway, according to these lists, I am one spinach and walnut sandwich away from total bliss, so I decided to leave the cheering foods well enough alone and start looking for sad ones. Continue reading →