mmm, bugs

[faceless]

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[eefanincan]

Ewwww! Snap, Crackle and Pupae

[faceless]

Tarantula cocktail, madam?
The thought of drinking from a glass containing a huge spider is enough to make most people feel a bit shaken - up but this Cambodian tuk-tuk driver seems to be enjoying his favourite cocktail.

The arachnophobe’s nightmare is made using rice wine, jack fruit and a tarantula – which many Cambodians believe can help your heart and work as an aphrodisiac. Photographer Tim Whitby, who took the pictures, said the tarantulas are added live to the mixture to preserve their freshness. They are also fried and sold at roadside kiosks.

The trade for spiders as food has been in effect since the 1970's in Cambodia - but only very recently have tourists been finding a way to see where the spiders are hunted in the nearby countryside. This particular tuk-tuk driver has even started offering spider-hunting tours.

Mr Whitby said: ‘I bought a spider from a particularly greasy looking tray and pulled off a couple of legs. They tasted sweet and a little crunchy.’

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I think I'd have to refuse...

[eefanincan]

I'm with you on that one, Face.

[faceless]

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Live Crabs Sold As Snacks For Commuters
Lulu Sinclair,
Sky News Online
October 28, 2010

Commuters in China are being offered a supposedly healthy alternative to crisps and chocolates from underground vending machines - hairy crabs that are meant to be eaten while still alive. The Dazha hairy crab, a popular delicacy in the southeastern province of Jiangsu, is on sale in three different sizes in the province capital of Nanjing. Prices for the small, medium or large crabs range from the equivalent of £1.50 to £5.00.

The crabs are packed into custom-fitted plastic boxes and chilled to 5C, leaving them sedated but still alive. If a customer gets a dead one, he or she will get three live ones for free. "The customers were a bit sceptical at first as they were worried if the crabs were alive or not," Wu Zhendi, general manager of the Twin Lake Crab Co, told reporters. But now they see they are alive, they keep coming back. We are selling hundreds each day, and more at weekends."

The company now plans to expand its business and is even thinking of trying out sales in Japan, where vending machines are big subway business.