# Are Gulls Edible **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848 "2008-11-15T12:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/41 "2008-11-16T16:11:13Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Ray Mears makes pine needle tea. But then I don’t think there’s anything he won’t eat, drink or wear as a hat. I’ve eaten the needles - just chewed a few while I was out walking - they’re quite tangy. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/42 "2008-11-16T16:53:40Z")
All you pine-needle eaters might like [retsina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retsina). Ghastly stuff. BTW, pine trees are also the source of turpentine, and turpentine pills used to be used medicinally a couple of centuries ago. Supposedly, they make your urine smell of violets. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/43 "2008-11-17T04:55:37Z")
I remember one show I watched where pine needles were used as a replacement for tongue jewelry. The show was about troubled kids sent to a tough-as-nails survival camp, in order to help rehabilitate. Tongue jewelry was against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/44 "2008-11-17T05:02:55Z")
IIRC, Dick Proenneke liked pine needle tea. Loads of vitamin C. Although I’ve heard that if a pregnant woman drinks it it can cause the death of the fetus within 24 hours. Is that true, or an old wives’ tale? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/45 "2008-11-17T13:09:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Although I’ve heard that if a pregnant woman drinks it it can cause the death of the fetus within 24 hours. Is that true, or an old wives’ tale? Sounds like something the Mythbusters should investigate. I’ve seen people chew pine resin like you would gum (the American botanist on the BBC’s “Rough Science” did it, and IIRC she said it was quite pleasant and a good antiseptic). ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/46 "2008-11-17T18:23:48Z")
It never ceases to amaze me how little it takes to derail a thread. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848/47 "2008-11-17T18:27:57Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > It never ceases to amaze me how little it takes to derail a thread. It’s not derailed in any sense of the word. The original question and all the subsequent followups have been pretty thoroughly addressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-gulls-edible/472848.md?page=2)