You’ve just got to laugh at this!
Two guys dug a hole on the beach at Portmarnoch, Dublin only for it to be mistaken the very next day by local astrophysics enthusiast, Dave Kennedy who asserted that it came from above and was in all likelihood a crashed meteor.
Speaking to Virgin Media news, Dave pointed to an alleged scorch mark on one side of the hole and hypothesised that the hole had been caused by a weighty meteor that had entered the ground at an angle.
He then spent the day calling astronomy experts to see if they could help him solve the mystery of the crater on the beach, which was in fact the work of two guys using using a kid’s spade.
How very awkward given that it was so well hyped in the media as an out-of-this-world phenomena.
After that perhaps the astrophysics enthusiast should now think about eating humble pie – but perhaps not this!
When you’re away from home are you ever tempted to try some of the local delicacies?
Well here’s news of one that you might be wise to give a very wide berth.
Available in Japan, Korea and elsewhere it’s called FUGU, also known as pufferfish or blowfish, which actually contains internal organs filled with life-threatening amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin – for which there is no known antidote. Indeed it is believed to be 10,000 times more poisonous than cyanide and works by paralysing the muscles while the victim stays fully conscious.
The unlucky diner is then left completely unable to breathe and eventually dies from asphyxiation.
You will doubtless be relieved to learn that only chefs who have qualified after three or more years of specialist culinary training are allowed to prepare the fish.
Preparation for cooking involves chefs removing the skin, spine and eyes and washing off the jelly, after which the fish must be gutted, involving great precision as one wrong move can burst the internal organs containing the tetrodotoxin poison.
Once this hard part is over the the dish can be readied for serving by filleting the now-prepped fish as usual to make sashimi, et voilà.
Bon Appetite. Very nice with chips, I’m told!
You then have the option to consume as raw sashimi, boiled, served alongside miso, fugu sake – which is a Japanese rice wine – or even fried after which it apparently tastes just like chicken.
Personally if it tastes like chicken, I’d go for the real thing.
Probably not a good idea to try serving this dish at home for visitors, unless you really don’t like them very much!
All being well, unless I’ve eaten something that disagrees with me, I’ll see you again on Monday,
Scott
