Alien Lunch: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"I'd just like them to kill my food before I eat it. Is that too much to ask?"''|'''Cale''', ''[[Titan AEA.E.]]''}}
 
A character vocally enjoying a meal -- often provided for free -- has the unusual (to them) ingredients mentioned and is thoroughly disgusted. In other cases, the character [[Shrug Take|momentarily pauses and then resumes eating]], or through the course of the episode is obliged to eat it, then makes a habit of it. May feature the one pragmatic character (sometimes a [[Big Eater]] or even an [[Extreme Omnivore]]) who has no problem eating something they ''know'' to be unusual.
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* One ''[[The Far Side]]'' comic has a chicken taking off a dog suit while approaching a horrified typical suburban family pausing in the middle of dinner during a thunderstorm saying "No, I'm not Fluffy, I'm the chicken you thought you cooked for dinner! Guess where Fluffy is!"
* A [[Gahan Wilson]] cartoon shows a tourist in Scotland peering over a hill watching a group of peanut-shaped bipedal creatures with antlers running across the landscape. Scottish guide: "Och, sir, you're a lucky man! 'Tis a rare stranger who gets to view the wild haggis romp!"
* Inverted by Phil Foglio in the ''[[Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire]]'' comic. [http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080103 This page] of the "Herodotus Files" has this to say about popsicles:
{{quote| Then it was revealed that humans froze liquids. No big news there. The concept that electrified the Gallimaufry was that Humans stuck a handle into the frozen liquid and ''ate'' it! ''Still frozen!''}}
 
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'''The Crowd''': Meat Loaf ''again''? }}
** The joke being, [[Don't Explain the Joke|of course]], that Meat Loaf was [[wikipedia:Meat Loaf|the original actor playing the role]].
* Pretty much the entire point in the movie ''[[Soylent Green (Film)|Soylent Green]]''. In the book it was [[Future Food Is Artificial|soy and lentils]]. Thus the name. [[I'm a Humanitarian|Not so much in]] [[It Was His Sled|the movie]].
** Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow are the original recipe. However, nobody likes them--the populace will happily knock over and trample entire tables full of Red loaves and Yellow buns in protest against the absence of Green crackers.
* The movie ''[[Eating Raoul]]'', as if you couldn't guess from the title.
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** Note that it's more likely to dismay a present-day viewer because some of what they eat comes from species that are endangered, if not extinct (Stellar's sea cow), today.
* In ''[[National Lampoon's Vacation]]!'', the Griswolds complain that the sandwiches are strangely "moist," and Clark takes his away to eat as he ogles the Blonde In The Ferrari. When Ellen realizes (and screams) "The dog peed on the picnic basket!" Clark immediately goes into spasms as he tries to spit out what little he had eaten, and tosses the rest. Aunt Edna, the dog's owner, shrugs and continues eating.
* A similar variation is in ''[[Titan AEA.E.]]''. The Earth is destroyed, so humans make do with alien food, and the aliens that Cale works with like their grub live.
** At best - Gune licks his hand and among the comments he makes on it is the phrase 'Who ate it before you did?'
* In ''[[Demolition Man]]'' the main character John Spartan is forced, along with his companions, to take a trip into the city's sewers where the rebels live. To try to dispel some of the suspicions that the sewers' inhabitants are directing at them he orders a hamburger (and pays for it with his Rolex. Talk about insane meat prices!). Halfway through eating it, he is reminded by one of his companions that there are no cows underground. He asks the vendor where the meat comes from, and is told it's rat meat. He pauses for a moment, then cheerfully resumes eating, stating it's the best burger he's had in years.
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* Likewise not an actual alien, although the character is enough of a [[Cloudcuckoolander]] at times that she ''might as well be:'' Lane's mother Jenny in ''[[Better Off Dead]]'' is shown on-screen cooking a meal where tentacles and claws wave from the pot; in another scene she serves the family a gelatinous green goo that flees Lane's plate when he pokes it with a fork.
{{quote| '''Jenny:''' It's got raisins in it. You ''like'' raisins.}}
* The cast of [[The Movie]] of ''[[Clue (Filmfilm)|Clue]]'' gets monkey brains for dinner too, and are nauseated to discover what they really ate.
* In ''[[The Lost Boys]]'', vampire David offers mortal Michael some rice, then tells him he's been eating maggots. After Michael recoils from his suddenly squirming food, David says it was just an optical illusion on his part: it's really rice after all. Then David, in a cruel double bluff, {{spoiler|offers Michael a swig of human blood from a wine bottle, and despite the warning of his semi-vampiric crush Star that it's actually blood for real, Michael drinks it and becomes a semi-vampire himself.}}
* In ''[[Funny Farm]]'', Chevy Chase's character stops at a local diner and finds an entree called "lamb fries" which he enjoys greatly, to the point of ordering 30 servings of it (breaking a previous customer's record). It's only after he's through that the waitress informs him that "lamb fries" are actually sheep testicles, prompting a comical [[Spit Take]].
* Reversed in the ''[[Masters of the Universe (Filmfilm)|Masters of the Universe]]'' film, where the alien Eternians eat simple fried chicken, only to discover with revulsion that it's meat. Man-at-Arms just digs in.
{{quote| '''Teela:''' I wonder why they put the food on these little white sticks? <br />
'''Man-at-Arms:''' Those are rib bones. <br />
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'''Man-at-Arms:''' Uh-huh.<br />
'''Teela:''' Ugh! What a barbaric world... {{spoiler|We never see Teela swallow.}} }}
* In ''[[Galaxy Quest (Film)|Galaxy Quest]]'', the cast of the fictional TV shows alien hosts prepare what they think to be the favourite food of the characters they play. One who played a human gets a steak. The one who played a [[Rubber Forehead Alien]] got a rather different meal. But how do we know what that steak was from?
* ''[[Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (Film)|Indiana Jones and Thethe Temple of Doom]]'', anyone? Chilled Monkey brains and eyeball tomato soup. Yum yum.
* Disney's ''[[Atlantis: theThe Lost Empire (Disney)|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'' featured a bizarre lunch with even more bizarre utensils. Everyone was squicked by things like the live "noodles" except for the doctor, who thought it was strange that no one else was eating.
* Daniel Jackson does this in the ''[[Stargate (Filmfilm)|Stargate]]'' movie, while eating a giant iguana creature. He comments that it [[Tastes Like Chicken]].
** It gets better. He doesn't know their language yet, so to express his opinion about the taste of the creature, he acts sort of like a chicken. The boys who herd the beasts of burden, including Skaara, respond by doing his chicken act when they finally recognize the man that Col. O'Neil is trying to describe by gestures and imitation.
* Also employed in ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes]]''.
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** Of course, eating a ''talking'' animal is cannibalism, just on the grounds that it's sentient.
** {{spoiler|Not long afterwards, the trio narrowly escape becoming examples of this trope themselves.}}
* In [[Bruce Coville (Creator)|Bruce Coville]]'s ''[[Aliens Ate My Homework]]'' series, Rod is briefly disgusted when told that the aliens he's working with raise worms for food. One of the [[Can't Argue Withwith Elves|aliens haughtily replies]] that his species doesn't believe in eating creatures as intelligent as the ones ''humans'' raise for food.
** In his ''My Teacher is an Alien'' series, the kids are served something called "Pleskits", which are purple, crusty, and extremely delicious. The aliens explain that Pleskits are a type of fungus, which isn't so bad. Then they reveal what it is they ''grow on''. The reader isn't told, but the kids no longer want to eat them.
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]'', Granny Weatherwax, complaining about foreign names for food, mentions the meal they had yesterday was nice "but they called it Cwuissses dee Grenolly, and who knows what ''that'' means?" Nanny Ogg gives the translation (frogs' legs) without thinking, then hastily adds that it's a joke name, like [[wikipedia:Toad-in-the-hole|toad-in-the-hole]].
** Discworld also had an inversion in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Feet of Clay|Feet of Clay]]''. A group of dwarves find out that their 'rat pies' are made of chicken, and complain to the watch about unsafe food.
** Subverted in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Jingo|Jingo]]'' when Vimes is offered an ''eyeball'' to eat by desert tribesmen. He correctly guesses this is a trick that they play on all their guests and refuses to eat it.
*** Then they give him "lamb and rice, just like mother," which Vimes ''still'' thinks looks a shade questionable, although he eats it anyway.
*** When visiting [[Uberwald]] Vimes is given some very strange sausages, and asks why they're all pink and where the grey and white and green bits are. He's informed that Uberwald would ''hang'' anyone who tried to sell an Ankh-Morpork sausage, and that there all sausages must be made of named meat. And that this doesn't include being named "Spot" or "Ginger".
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* In ''[[The Sparrow]]'' the group sent to the alien planet start out by testing each alien food on their own as they're out in the woods; for the most part its edible. A few of them become ill temporarily, but one of them actually dies.
** What actually killed that character was never revealed, but it probably wasn?t the aliens? food, as several of the other human characters were eating the same diet.
* In Gregory Maguire's [[Wicked (Literaturenovel)|Wicked]] series, characters that eat meat frequently worry that and/or are upset to find that their meat comes from a sentient, talking Animal.
* The finale of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Titus Andronicus (Theatretheatre)|Titus Andronicus]]'' plays this straight. It's not pretty. Or funny.
** In the ''[[Theatre of Blood]]'' version it's pretty hilarious.
** The Reduced Shakespeare Company version presents ''Titus Andronicus'' as a cooking show. 'Bone' appetit! (and yes, they use that line)
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* In the ''[[Vorkosigan Saga]]'' novel ''A Civil Campaign'', Miles samples bug butter, the product of his brother Mark's latest investment, and finds it a bit bland but otherwise edible. Then, Mark shows Miles a Butter Bug, which is described as resembling a cross between a cockroach and a pustule, and Miles abruptly loses interest in eating any more bug butter.
* In a memoir of her youth, the novelist Colette remembers one of her brothers insisting on cooking one of the family dogs after it died in an accident. Although when the dish actually arrives on the table, everyone claims to have lost their appetite, and it is hinted to have been fed to one of the other dogs.
* The ''[[Star Trek: Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]'' book ''No Man's Land'' uses this trope when the human crew dine with the Iudka, enjoying Carmor Soup despite slight misgivings when it's revealed the primary ingredient is Carmor testicles.
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
* In the ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]'' episode "Tikka to Ride", Kryten is told to find food after having his morality chip removed, and finds the body of a man who had been trampled to death. He reasons "If humans eat chicken, then they obviously eat their own species, otherwise they'd just be picking on the chickens!" and thinks it'd be a pity to waste the body when it'd barbecue so nicely...
* ''[[Sanford and Son|Sanford & Son]]'', where Fred misunderstands that Sangria is only ''named'' after blood.
* George Francisco's interesting meals in ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]''.
** Tenctonese cuisine is at it's best when mimicking Earth food. Peanut butter and jellyfish anyone?
** Tenctonese like their meat raw. Justified, as they can't metabolize cooked meat.
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'''Connie''': ... I think first-period biology is ruining Jeremy's appetite.<br />
'''Walt''': Can I have my unborn chickens scrambled? }}
** ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]'' also does this one in "DNA" when Kryten is briefly turned into a human.
{{quote| '''Kryten''': "Mmm, boiled chicken ovulations. Dee-licious!"}}
* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', while Major Carter is spending some time with the Asgard helping them deal with the Replicators, Thor offers her some food, which, as it turns out, is not exactly suited for human consumption. (Apparently the prop food was really as disgusting as the actress's reaction suggests.)
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** ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' had a variation where Todd hosted a meeting with the team about negotiating an alliance behind the backs of the other Wraith. Upon entering the room, Sheppard immediately commented on the fruit bowl Todd added to the table in order to make the talks more comfortable for the humans (since the Wraith digestion system goes dormant after puberty). Todd responds that he hopes they prove to be [[I Am a Humanitarian|as delicious as the farmers who grew them]]. Cue everyone [[Your Normal Is Our Taboo|looking away in disgust]].
* Subverted in ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'': when Howard meets a group of snow people, their leader suggests they have lunch, at which point one of them spits ([[Squick|let's just say it's spit for now]]) onto a plate, at which point Howard thinks he has to eat the delicacy or he would offend them. After trying the "spit", he mumbles some fake compliments, at which point the real lunch arrives: ordinary sandwiches.
* An episode of ''[[Star Trek: theThe Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' had Riker preparing some Klingon dishes in preparation for a cultural exchange. When the rest of the crew learns what the ingredients are, they recoil in disgust. Except, of course, Worf, who merely comments "delicious" before resuming scarfing it down. Riker himself, however, gets a [[Squick]] moment when he gets to an actual meal with the Klingons and learns they prefer their ''gagh'' still living.
** You're supposed to bite gagh when you eat it though otherwise you end up with parasites, as Riker does.
** Worf also greatly enjoys prune juice, calling it a "Warrior's Drink".
** "I shall try some of your burned replicated bird meat."
** On a similar note, ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' has a Klingon cafe open on the Promenade, which the characters visit a few times. You get bonus cool points with the proprietor for getting aggressive about the quality of your meal: "No one likes half-dead ''racht''" after all.
** Also on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|Deep Space Nine]]'', Jake enjoys a meal with Nog (cooked by his dad), until he learns that it's made of tube grubs.
** ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|Deep Space Nine]]'' also has the [[Running Gag]] about the inedibility of Cardassian Yamok sauce, no other species in the galaxy will touch it.
** ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|Deep Space Nine]]'' also has another [[Running Gag]] where Quark would insult Rom by offering him root beer. Also, Nog has learnt to enjoy root beer in Jake's company
** The theme restaurant outside ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]: The Experience'' in Las Vegas served an ice-cream-and-gummy-worm dish that was allegedly based on Klingon cuisine.
** An episode of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]'' had somebody complaining about "Why didn't you make Chakotay ''drink'' that?"; "Chakotay's vegetarian".
** According to Worf in one episode, Klingon tea is deadly to humans. Dr. Pulaski comments it's not that good for Klingons, takes an antidote, and drinks it.
** This is [[Playing Withwith a Trope|played with]] in the "Year of Hell" episode of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager (TV)|Voyager]]'', when Annorax makes a meal for newly-captured prisoners Chakotay and Paris. They seem to enjoy the food immensely until they find out where the food came from. This makes them pause, but I believe that they continue eating it. The reason the trope is played with is that they are not horrified by the ''substance'' of the food (which was very much edible and safe), but by the implications of '''eating it'''. {{spoiler|Each dish of food that Annorax has had prepared is the last remnants of an entire civilization he has completely removed from history with his temporal weapon. There are about 20 different items on the table, showing the scale of what he as done.}} This scene shows just how amoral Annorax has become at this point.
* In the ''[[Flight of the Conchords]]'' episode "Bret Gives Up the Dream", Bret brings home a bag of much-needed food. After Jermaine bites into a sandwich, Bret admits that he found the food on the street. Disgusted, Jermaine runs to the sink to spit the bite out, then decides to just eat it.
* In ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'', John adapts to the new food fairly quickly by necessity, and alien lunches of all kinds are shown in later episodes. In one episode where the crew of Moya [[It Makes Sense in Context|end up on Earth in the 80's]], Rygel hails chocolate as the greatest food of all time, and becomes addicted to the stuff.
** On the other hand, it's been subverted in an episode or two which featured "dry food squares" or something like that; ordinary crackers.
** One semi-subversion has John incredulous that anyone would eat a certain animal; not because it's a [[Squick]], but because it's too "cute" to eat.
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{{quote| Rigel: What the devil is "iziz green"?<br />
John: Not "iziz green," ''ice, cream''! }}
* Subverted in ''[[The HitchhikersHitchhiker's Guide to Thethe Galaxy]]''. When Ford (non-human) and Arthur (human) encounter some strange blue food on a Vogon ship, Ford insists that Arthur will find it delicious. Arthur reluctantly tries some, only to find it awful. Convinced that Arthur isn't giving it a fair chance, he eats some and appears to enjoy it, before conceding that, yes, it actually is terrible. (Although in this case, it was deliberately made to taste horrible because the makers ''really'' hate Vogons.)
** At the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur is badly [[Squick|squicked]] by a genetically-engineered sentient meat animal, whose psychological make-up includes the wish to die that others might eat him. (Which they then do.)
* ''[[Kenan and Kel]]: Two Heads Are Better Than None'', played for comedy.
* Reality TV shows build big ratings out of feeding their contestants various substances which are expected to [[Squick]] them out. And yet nothing that's served is ever actually harmful; most times, it's something that is actually considered normal food, if not a delicacy, in another part of the world.
** One "couples" episode of ''[[Fear Factor]]'' had the contestants eat as much as they could from a plate of various (unorthodox) sea critters, including octopus. Intriguingly, one of the couples reported that they had eaten octopus before (it is frequently used in Japanese cuisine, including sushi) and thought it was okay, but Fear Factor's version of it was much worse -- probably prepared in the wrong way, or at least without any flavor-adding techniques normally used in restaurants.
* The ''[[Columbo (TV)|Columbo]]'' episode "Swan Song" ([[The One With...]] [[Johnny Cash]]) has Columbo become rather taken aback when informed that the chili he just enjoyed has squirrel meat in it.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial "The Green Death," the Brigadier enjoys his steak until he's told it's a specially bred fungus.
** In ''The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'', all the food we see on Segonax, from the burgers to the fruit pulp to the [[Separated Byby a Common Language|chips/crisps]], the Doctor and/or Ace find unpalatable.
** Subverted in the second episode of "The Daleks," with the TARDIS' food machine. Basically, Ian asks for "bacon and eggs," and the Doctor punches in some letters and numbers. The food machine produces a small, white, Mars Bar-shaped thing. Ian looks at it in disgust, but takes a bite anyway. It ''is'' bacon and eggs.
* An episode of ''[[Perfect Strangers]]'' had Larry give praise to a meal Balki prepared for them. Just as Balki opens his mouth, Larry interrupts him with "Please don't ruin it by telling me what it was."
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Fallout 3 (Video Game)|Fallout 3]]'' has DLC pack [[In Space|Mothership Zeta]] where trays of alien food are available. One variant is an enormous green segment of a lumpy tentacle, and the other is a whole squid-like creature [[Squick|affixed to the tray by its bodily fluids.]]
* In the second ''[[Little Big Adventure]]'' game the [[Player Character]] is offered a slice of tart (which is an item you'll need later), and after eating some is casually informed by the housekeeper that it's made of fireflies -- the local version of [[Goddamned Bats]] you encounter a lot in the Under-Gas. He then passes out.
* Not an alien example, ''per se'', but still a valid one: ''[[Breath of Fire II (Video Game)|Breath of Fire II]]'' features a sequence in which the characters have to eat various dishes made by a frog chef. Obviously, they include ingredients a frog would eat (bugs and the like) and it causes the character to vomit.
* If you level your cooking in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', parts of wolves, reptiles, big cats, worms, and giant spiders ''will'' be involved. There's also the ever-popular "Mystery Meat", which is often obtained from vultures, giant scorpions, and hyenas.
** ''[[Ever Quest]]'' cooking has ''interesting'' ingredients as well. Eating smoked Wood Elf, for example, gives you a temporary bonus to agility, and the less said about what goes into a Hero Sandwich, the better...
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== Web Comics ==
* In the webcomics of the ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'', more than one person chows down on an [[Alien Lunch]]. The specific comics are Campus Safari, which has three incidents. (One is offscreen, but played for comedy.) And Akaelae, which has only one occurrence.
* Belkar of ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'' has served some pretty dubious fare, including roast vulture, or corn chips dished up in a scooped-out kobold head.
** Although that one was just to gross out Roy.
* Reversed in ''[[Goblins|Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes]]'': the goblin heroes are disgusted by human foods like bread and cheese.
* [[Playing Withwith a Trope|Played with]] in ''[[Life Withwith Lamarr]]'' when This One presents Odessa Cubbage with a plate of eggs, informing him that they are actually vortigaunt eggs and that refusing to eat them is punishable by a horrendous death in vortigaunt society. {{spoiler|Turns out he was just fucking with him.}}
* In ''[[Digger (Webcomic)|Digger]]'' the eponymous wombat is invited to attend a Hyena funeral, and asks her Hyena friend Ed for advice on the correct etiquette {{spoiler|little does she suspect, The People practice funerary cannibalism, and as guest of honour she’s expected to take part in eating the deceased's Liver}}.
{{quote| '''Ed:''' "Digger-mousey is a plant eater yes? Is not eating meat at all?"<br />
'''Digger:''' "Yes."<br />
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== Western Animation ==
* Used in ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]'': Starfire, Cyborg and Robin are sitting at a picnic table.
{{quote| '''Starfire:''' This tangy yellow beverage is truly delightful. <br />
'''Cyborg:''' Uh, Starfire? <br />
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* In one episode of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'', everyone loves the cookies Grim's aunt makes, which sold enough to win them the award for their scout troop. When accepting the award, Grim's aunt tells them the recipe has nightcrawlers, mashed crickets, and dung beetles in it. Everyone pauses for a couple seconds to look at the still squirming bugs in the treats...before they all just continue eating. One of them passes out to spring up a second later and say:
{{quote| '''Troop Leader:''' Man, those are good cookies!}}
* The second episode of the 2nd season of ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'' shows that [[Extreme Omnivore|Anakin isn't picky when it comes to food]]. Though he might have done it just to Squick out Obi-Wan.
{{quote| '''Obi-Wan''': How ''can'' you eat that?<br />
'''Anakin''' (mouth full of bugs): But Master, you always taught me to feed off the Living Force. }}
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** Played with elsewhere in the film. [[Jerkass]] minor antagonist Colonel Calloway is already hesitant about the snack he's been offered due to its moldy flavor -- discovering he's eating fungus fudge with toadstool tea just pushes him over the edge into true disgust.
* In the ''[[Simpsons]]'' episode "Helter Shelter," the family meets a group of reality show contestants in the wilderness. The group was abandoned there when one of the contestants "[[Eat That|just couldn't eat anymore kangaroo testicles]]." Now, he can't get enough of them.
* An inversion in the ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (Animation)|Galaxy Rangers]]'' episode "Marshmallow Trees." [[Ambadassador|Ambassador]] [[Hobbits|Zozo]], trades his species's invention of [[Fantastic Fruits and Vegetables]] to a human colony. When shown that the colony will trade the Kiwi vegetables for ''hamburger,'' Zozo reacts with disgust. His niece and nephews, though, really like the stuff.
* A mutual version from ''[[Green Lantern the Animated Series (Animation)|Green Lantern the Animated Series]]'': Kilowogg eats a giant bug (in some kind of glaze, defeating Hal's assertion that he'll eat glazed anything), then inquires as to what "cheese" is (Hal's rations being grilled cheese in a can), and is so disgusted by Aya's explanation he asks Hal to eat in a closet from now on.
 
{{reflist}}