Would you eat a hamburger with a baked tarantula on the top?
One of my least favorite parts of reality TV shows like Survivor, Fear Factor, and The Amazing Race are the food challenges. Contestants are presented with things that are nominally edible, sometimes even commonly eaten by other cultures, and are forced to choke them down in order to win money or move on in the competition. I have a strong aversion to throwing up, so seeing people trying (and sometimes failing) to conquer their gag reflex as they swallow cow’s eyes or grubs or what-have-you is not fun. Eating a baked tarantula strikes me as something that belongs in this arena.
However, on second thought it is a little different. You could put the bun on top, hide the tarantula entirely, then just power through and not even think about the arachnid you’re munching on along with the grass fed beef. So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Of course, it also means a tarantula dies for every meal. And while I’m arachnophobic, I also actually like spiders (even though I’m deathly afraid of them), so this seems a bit excessive. One whole tarantula for each burger. I just hope they’re not killed by baking, like lobsters killed by boiling.
Various and Sundry 