# Chia Pets - they look nice, but...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 10, 2000, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015 "2000-01-10T02:19:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015/1 "2000-01-10T02:19:00Z")

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_sitting down at the table, as if nothing has happened_

So my new stepdaughter got a Chia Elmer Fudd for Christmas and is all psyched about giving Elmer a natural. The wife and I are into it, but we were wondering - is the plant edible? A small bit of research shows that there is a family of sage called chia but we wanna know if we can give Elmer a Mohawk and decorate our salads/burgers/ice cream sundaes with the clippings. Anyone?

Oh - it’s good to be back. Happy New Year/Millennium (no 2001/2000 debates, please, I subscribe to the Odometer Theory) to you all!

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Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!

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**Author:** ![N\_oR\_jVIaL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@N\_oR\_jVIaL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N_oR_jVIaL)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015/2 "2000-01-10T03:44:00Z")

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Someone once gave me a Chia pet, but it wasn’t much fun to play with.  
It just stood there with a dumb look on it’s face. It wouldn’t roll over or sit up or anything. I think it was dead, because fungus started growing on it … so buried it.

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**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015/3 "2000-01-10T04:12:00Z")

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Yeah, you can eat the sprouts (or since it’s Elmer, spwouts). I think it says so in the directions. You threw those away? You’re in trouble now!

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**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015/4 "2000-01-10T14:30:00Z")

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Nah, Auntie, we didn’t throw the directions away, honest! Actually it doesn’t say anywhere on the directions, or even on the web site [www.chia.com](http://www.chia.com) that chia is, in fact, edible. Thus turn I, prodigal Regular of the SDMB, to the Teeming Millions for answers.

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Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!

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**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chia-pets-they-look-nice-but/6015/5 "2000-01-11T08:59:00Z")

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Try this  
[www.chatlink.com/~herbseed/chia.htm](http://www.chatlink.com/~herbseed/chia.htm)

I’m not sure if this is the same chia that your pet is made of but if so, it looks like you can make a tasty beverage from Elmer.

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Born O.K. the first time…

If you are born again, do you have two belly-buttons?