| The 'Food Memory Show' | |
April 27, 2016
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| This show was very popular. The TV production company paid a lot of money for this project. Using brain neuroscience and super-computers, they made a system to enable one's old memories of food to become reality, i.e. actual food. For example, if somebody wanted to eat the sandwich he/she ate when he/she was a child, the special machine would receive the signals in the neurons of his/her brain, and the super-computers would analyze it, and calculate the ingredients and make the recipe of the sandwich. A team of chefs would make the food from the recipe in the studio, and the guest who requested it would eat it. Almost all of the guests were amazed by the tastes that were the same from their past experiences, but sometimes some of them argued that the tastes were different from his/her expectations. This made the show thrilling. If the guests weren't satisfied, their memories could have been changed by themselves because of a long time since eating it last; this is called 'glorify', when they think the food had been better, although it was the illusion they made up. On the contrary, sometimes the food became sensational. When a president of a company appeared on the show, he wanted to eat Japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles. He said that when he started his business, he was very poor and couldn't eat enough. At that time, a shop owner of Japanese soba noodles gave him a bowl of soba noodles many times for free saying that he was young and needed more calories. He gained his
On the show, eating the soba noodle, he talked to the camera, "Master. If you are watching this show from Heaven, I would like to say thank you. Your soba noodles gave me energy every time. After my company became bigger, when I was in hard situations, I remembered the taste of your noodles, and I could work harder thinking about the day when I could report my success to you. Master! Thank you very much!" He was crying. Others, the audience in the studio, the host, the staff and the viewers began to cry. The show recorded its best rating. On this day, a man in his mid-50s was sitting in the guest seat on the stage. There was about 30 people in the audience sitting down in chairs facing the stage. The host of the show started to explain, "This middle aged man's mother sadly died when he was 18 years old. He loved his mother, of course: and, he also loved her dumplings. Today's food will be her dumplings!" There was a big applause from the audience. The host asked the man, "Mr. Takagi, your mother passed away a long time ago. Do you have confidence that you memorized your mother's dumpling's taste now?" The man replied, "At that time, every weekend my mother made her dumplings, and it was our pleasure. I've never forgot the taste. I can say they were the best dumplings in the world!" There was a big applause from the audience again. The host asked, "Can you explain about your mother's dumplings?" The man answered it was a stir-fried dumpling. He didn't know the actual ingredients, although it contained Chinese leeks and pork meat, of course. She used ready-made dumpling skins but somehow its taste was unique. He added, "I believe she used some hidden flavor." The host announced, "Ladies and gentlemen. From Mr. Takagi's brain, can our computers find his mother's dumpling's hidden flavor? This is a big challenge." A big applause occurred from the audience. The man was escorted by a young woman wearing mini skirt to the center of the stage. There was a luxury seat, and she urged him to sit down in it. She gave him a pill and a glass of water. The host explained that the pill was harmless, and would just make him relax and make the system easier to access his memories. The woman placed a headphone-shaped machine on his head that was connected to the supercomputers. After she left, it became darker on the stage. The host said in a calm voice, "Mr. Takagi, can you hear me?" The guy nodded. The host continued, "Ok. Please close your eyes and think about your old house. Now, you and your other family members surround the dinner table. On the table there is a big dish of the dumplings that your mother just made. You take one of the dumplings. You dip it into soy-sauce and eat it." The guy's mouth was watering. The audience was silent. After a while, the host said, "After my counting to three, you will awake c one, two, three. Open your eyes." The guy opened his eyes and was escorted to the front part of the stage, next to the host. In the center of the stage, a chef appeared and started to give instructions to his assistants. Soon the lady in mini-skirt handed a sheet of paper to the host. The host said, "This is the recipe that our super computers made. How do you feel?" the host asked the guy and he replied, "Exciting! I can't wait!" The paper was handed to the chef, and the chef started to cook. Soon a good smell came up from the stage. The man said, "I can't stop my mouth from watering!" There was laughter from the audience. After a while, the dish of dumplings was served on the table in front of the host and the guy. The host said cheerfully, "This is the time Mr. Takagi will eat his mother's lovely dumplings for the first time in more than 30 years! Mr. Takagi. Eat!" The guy held his chopsticks and grabbed a dumpling, dipped it into the soy sauce and ate it. The audience was silent. After eating one dumpling, he took another and ate it. He didn't stop eating. He continuously kept eating. The host had a good sense and didn't interrupt him. He let him eat until the man finished all of the dumplings on the plate. The guy put down the chopsticks, and drank a cup of tea and looked at the host shyly. The host asked, "And?" The man shouted, "These are my mother's dumplings! Exactly! Perfectly tasting dumplings!" There was big applause from the audience. The show finished successfully, giving the viewers of the recipe of the dumplings on the TV screens, as was the routine of the show. Many viewers that noted the recipe. The following day, dumpling skins sold well all over the country. That night, in many houses, the dumplings that Mr. Takagi's mother made were made, and tasted by millions of the families around the country. And, at that point, they came to know that Mr. Takagi's mother's cooking skills were not good! Being raised by the mother and her meals, Mr. Takagi's sense of taste was not good either. The dumplings tasted terribly bad. |
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*i.e. :in other words (O)
*glorify :to make something seem more important or better than it really is (L)