# Eating brains **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2005, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296 "2005-11-16T12:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/1 "2005-11-16T12:03:51Z")
First post, Hi 🙂 Does anyone know how to interpret an impulse to eat when one sees or manipulates brains? This is either on documents or dissecting during class in my case. Guts, muscles, and other organs don’t trigger anything at all, and the formol solution turns me off. Seeing the word “sulci” in context with brains vividly pairs with “succulent”. So what gives? ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/2 "2005-11-16T13:15:29Z")
It’s pretty simple. You’re a zombie. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/3 "2005-11-16T14:57:40Z")
Well, I know it’s wrong and yet I still get the urge. I think it means something, but I can’t figure out what. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/4 "2005-11-16T15:15:31Z")
well, if you really want it, you can get brains. As Dave Barry showed in his Gift Guide book, you can get canned pig brains in milk gravy _really_ cheap because (as he puts it), “you’ll never want to eat these in an emergency, or at any other time”. Less than 50 cents a can! (at least, it was a few years ago) In these days of BSE, I think I’d stay away from calf brains, formerly you most common “eating” brain. I ate brains once, but it was a trick by my host. “Just try it first.” Yeah. Never fell for that one again. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/5 "2005-11-16T15:23:18Z")
It’s not _wrong_, **Hermes** old bean, it’s just your nature. I used to manage a large undead population in rural southeastern Georgia. While most of the time the subjects suffered complete loss of intellect during the death/animation process (largely due to brain tissue damage caused by overenthusiastic “recruiters” :rolleyes: ) there was occasionally the rare item who’s mnd remained more or less in tact and could operate with some measure of autonomy. And while lingering memories would fade over time, there was the inevitable hesitation to satisfy the strong hunger for brains caused by lingering morality. Mercifully that all faded over the course of a few weeks while the new husk became acclimated into his new role as an animated corpse. So don’t fret, my lad, you’ll get over the self doubt soon enough and before you know it you’ll be a slavering, mindless walking corpse obeying your lust for grey matter with an easy, if completely still, heart. ---
**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, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/6 "2005-11-16T15:25:51Z")
I’ve never yet eaten mammalian brains, at least not knowingly, but they are supposed to be quite tasty. They’re mostly fat, so I suppose it’s going to be a bit like eating Foie Gras, but, aside from the rather grave worry about prion diseases, there’s no real reason to shun animal brains as a source of food, no more than there’s a reason to shun, say, liver. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/7 "2005-11-16T15:31:13Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > I used to manage a large undead population in rural southeastern Georgia. How do you distinguish them from all the non-Undead people in Georgia? I’ve driven through Georgia; it’s hard to tell… ---
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/8 "2005-11-16T15:44:57Z")
That’s funny, Inigo. I’m actually serious about figuring out what this is about. I’m working normaly, thinking a few things thru as I dissect this cat that’s starting to stink after a few days in his wet bag, and munching down on a choice piece of food is the furthest thing from my mind. The smell palpably runs down my palate and it’s a pungeant volume further down - as apetizing as freshly cut grass is aphrodisiac. But then, a student on the neighbouring table finishesd early and got permission to review brains for the practical that’s coming up. I see the stem in his hands and I start salivating! So it’s really a distraction, and I know I shouldn’t get hungry for the inedible, stinky piece of fat and nerve, and yet there it is, keeping my attention. I was fed some sort of cattle brain when I was small, but at present it doesn’t turn on my stomach anymore than other stuff I was fed at that age, such as octopus legs, spinach, artichoke and the like. It’s specificaly the brain fresh out of the cranium. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/9 "2005-11-16T16:20:43Z")
You’re a good sport. Sounds like some kind of manifestation of [pica](http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1798.htm), or something similar, in its early stages. I know pica refers specifically to non-nutritious/delicious substances like dirt, rocks, soap, light bulbs, Doritos, etc. But Surely there’s something like it that refers to a compulsive desire for one particular gastroninomic delight. Like braaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiins. Then again, a formalin-soaked braaaaiiiiin could hardly be considered nutritive and be viewed more as an “object” than a food. Tell me, have you a grocery store that vends brains for you to view? I wonder if you saw this stuff in a “food context” if it would have the same effect on you. If not, then I would investigate pica. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/10 "2005-11-16T16:22:14Z")
**Hermes** , you need to see a doctor, preferably an ophthalmologist skilled in the treatment of conjunctivitis, aka pinkeye. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/11 "2005-11-16T16:47:44Z")
> [@](#): > > there’s no real reason to shun animal brains as a source of food Well, brains are loaded with chloresterol. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/12 "2005-11-16T16:55:08Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Well, brains are loaded with chloresterol. . . .as well as prions. ---
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/13 "2005-11-16T16:58:02Z")
Thanks for the link. I don’t get any uncontrolable physical impulses for it, just a focused and lucid draw towards it. I don’t think I would actually ingest any unless I consciously knew it was edible and a necessary part of my diet. I haven’t recently seen brains on a platter or in culinary ads, as far as I remember. But now that I think about it, I do remember finding the symbolic of one of the characters in Hannibal having his brains as a dinner centerpiece being a pretty attractive one. I used to (a few years ago) have a thorough grasp of my subconscious, to be able to setup and trigger deep pavlov-types of reflexes at random for fun, and with a lot of discipline for serious purposes. But I’d do it often enough that, if my instinct that this is a leftover from one of those is correct, I can’t remember what the purpose for this one was. I’ll think it through overnight… rent Hannibal and see what it does. Thanks for walking this thru with me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/14 "2005-11-16T16:59:34Z")
I have eaten goats’ brains. I was tricked into eating them. While I wouldn’t eat them anymore, it’s no worse than say, tripe. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/15 "2005-11-16T17:00:01Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > . . .as well as prions. Really? 'Cause I LOOOOVES me some prions. Especially when they’re wrapped in bacon and grilled over an alder fire. In fact, I love all seafood. ---
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/16 "2005-11-16T17:03:31Z")
I think that’s it. Now I remember consciously crystalizing an idea into my memory of the scene, as I watched it, of Hannibal serving a piece of brain to the little kid in the plane, at the end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@Hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermes)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/17 "2005-11-16T17:06:18Z")
And vetbridge, I’m sorry but if you were insinuating something in post #10, it’s too subtle for me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/18 "2005-11-16T17:06:52Z")
> [@Hermes](#): > > I don’t get any uncontrolable physical impulses for it, just a focused and lucid draw towards it. When she was pregnant, my wife referred to such feelings as “cravings.” > [@Hermes](#): > > I don’t think I would actually ingest any unless I consciously knew it was edible and a necessary part of my diet. Of course not, you’re an adult-oid who seems to operate on a “normal” level. That’s why pica is seen in little kids and nutty adults who don’t have inhibitions about popping a turn into their maw. the only difference between them and you is that you know better and are currently exercising restraint. If it’s pica. Which it’s not. Because you don’t. Ingest, that is. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/19 "2005-11-16T17:09:03Z")
If you’re convinced there’s a psychological reason for your appetite, then perhaps there is. What do brains symbolize for you? Knowledge? Reason? Ooginess? Zombies? Now what does eating signify for you? Satiety? Comfort? Mastery? Power? Mix and match, and I bet you’ll be on your way to figuring it out. For example: Hungry for knowledge? Seeking to master your inhibitions? Gaining power over others by doing gross things? Feeling comfort in rational thinking over emotional connection? Your symbols are unique to you, so you’re really the only one who can figure this out. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296/20 "2005-11-16T17:12:51Z")
> [@Hermes](#): > > And vetbridge, I’m sorry but if you were insinuating something in post #10, it’s too subtle for me 🙂 I am seldom accused of subtlety. Lame South Park reference [http://www.tv.com/south-park/pink-eye/episode/2423/summary.html](http://www.tv.com/south-park/pink-eye/episode/2423/summary.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-brains/331296.md?page=2)