Some curious Japanese gourmands desperately want to taste the Fugu fish liver to get the unique tingly sensation in their mouth. I've heard a few try to taste a minute enough portion to taste but not die.
Fugu provides one of the most potent potions nature has provided. One estimate is that there averages 120 very painful fugu deaths each year in Japan.
On closer shores, when we were kids, my cousin came up with the hair brained idea that poison ivy would be be harmless if you squeezed out the leaf juices really well. She did and then rubbed it all over her body. I don't know how she later managed to become a successful veterinarian.
The title of this entry is in honor of a student my wife's nicknamed Sushi, who asked her, "How do you say sushi in Japanese?"
(Oops! This is inspiring me. I think I'll go into our kitchen now and pop a small Szechuan pepper into my mouth. It's not really a pepper but about the size of a peppercorn and looks like a red, burst peppercorn. It's related to the orange tree. A minute after eating it, my mouth will have a spot where it actually buzzes/vibrates very tightly and quickly. Nice, unique aroma/taste too. Note, usually the Szechuan restaurants in America substitute other hot peppers in their cooking.)
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