Friday, January 28, 2005

So I found this really involved website from Cherry's profile: Penguin Warehouse. I showed it to Yeung, and the first thing he asks is, "Which type of penguin is most tender?"

Sick bastard. :( Haha.

Eventually he asked if any cultures have ever eaten penguins. Equipped with my incredible online sleuthing [some may call them "stalking," but WHATEVER] skills, I found this:
QUESTION: Can you eat penguins? What do they taste like?

ANSWER from Polly Penhale on January 12, 1995:
Penguins are an excellent food source for many animals in Antarctica, such as leopard seals and killer whales, but people shouldn't eat them!

Under the Antarctic Treaty, birds and mammals are protected. The United States passed a law called the Antarctic Conservation Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens from harming birds such as penguins. As for taste, my guess is that they would taste oily and fishy, as their diet consists of krill, which are shrimp-like animals in the ocean.

ANSWER from Michael Castellini on January 13, 1995"
The only examples I know of where humans ate penguins were in some of the early explorations of the Antarctic. Since there are also penguins in Africa, South America, New Zealand and other warmer places, it is possible that people who lived there ate these birds at some point. I don't know anyone who has tasted penguin, but I would think that it would taste like fish, not chicken! Since these birds eat fish, squid and krill, their meat would probably have lots of marine oils and taste to it!
Neat! I like how some scientists or other enthusiasts reply with exclamation marks when talking about their subject! You know they'd be the geeky people you'd laugh at behind your hand if you heard them speak!

And for my Christmas present from Michelle, I received a tank top and underwear that said "word geek" in sparkles on them. Yes, someday I will be one of those people! [Or I probably already am!]