According to Robot, Humans Taste Like Bacon.

Researchers at the NEC System Technologies and Mie University, Japan, have designed a robot that can taste and identify different foods and wines:

At the end of the robot's left arm is an infrared spectrometer. When objects are placed up against the sensor, the robot fires off a beam of infrared light. The reflected light is then analyzed in real time to determine the object's chemical composition.
"All foods have a unique fingerprint," Shimazu said. "The robot uses that data to identify what it is inspecting right there on the spot."

When it has identified a wine, the robot speaks up in a childlike voice. It names the brand and adds a comment or two on the taste, such as whether it is a buttery chardonnay or a full-bodied shiraz, and what kind of foods might go well on the side.

Apparently, humans taste like bacon:

Some of the mistakes it makes would get a human sommelier fired — or worse.
When a reporter's hand was placed against the robot's taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon.

Uh oh! http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-06/09-03-06/03business.htm - via Collision Detection

I guess the cannibals of the Marquesas Islands were right to call human beings "long pigs."

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Hmmmmmmm, Bacon.

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I'm not surprised. Despite all the "tastes like chicken" jokes surrounding cannibalism, most accounts by people who actually admit to having tasted human flesh claim it tastes like pork. When you consider that pigs are chemically very similar to ourselves and eat the same basic foods, it's not surprising that we taste alike as well. "Religious" laws against eating swine probably began with competition against pigs who were eating the natural resources we needed in areas where food was scarce. Apparently, the benefits of eating the pigs did not make up for the amount of "human" food they consumed. In places where food was more plentiful, or where wild boars lived in areas separate from human settlements, such proscriptions did not arise.

In case anyone's wondering what I eat, I'm a vegetarian. But I find this sort of thing fascinating nonetheless, and won't try to force anyone to change their diet on my account.

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