The Appealing and Potentially Lethal Delicacy That Is Fugu
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
The appealing part is that it is potentially lethal and maybe the high skill requirement to be able to serve it. That's pretty much it.
It's tasteless, mildly chewy texture. Most of the flavor comes from the soy sauce. In hotpot/stews it becomes hard rather quickly. There are lot better fish for hotpots.
And as far as the "potentially lethal" section goes:
> Of the 23 incidents reported in Tokyo from 1993 through 2006, only one took place in a restaurant; all others involved people catching and eating the fish.[0]
I don't have actual statistics, but you walking on the street seems more dangerous.
Except being able to brag that you've eaten fugu.
I've eaten fugu. You're not missing out on much. It's kind of bland.
See? Easy peasy.
Telling a half truth is much easier than telling a complete lie, so actually having the experience even in the most bland version drastically improves your storytelling. I think it’s the self confidence that makes the difference.
If you are a complete fraud you overcompensate and you lack passion, you lack of decisiveness to elaborate the creative details. It's really hard to master the skills so you don't be like that when lie. I think the psychological trick is to convince yourself that you are authentic and having some truth goes a long way with helping convincing yourself. This is why, when you know just a little bit about a subject you can go in great detail of explaining how things work as you are the greatest expert.
Or, you know, being a total psychopath will do the trick!
But lying is a much more transferable skill.
> being a total psychopath will do the trick
I know you intended that to be ironic humor, but the road to success in business often runs close to the border of psychopathy.
Actually, in my opinion, the real advantage probably comes from being able to stay out of the emotional context of the situation. Most people are consumed by things like how they feel or how others feel and get blinded to the implications of following those emotions.
Perfectly safe, if expensive.
Maybe just imagining the experience does it too? I would intellectually know that I never aten it but I would be sure that I know how it is due to having experienced other fish and I can simply adjust the analogous experience to match the details I know about the experience I imagine having. This way I would be able to extrapolate details as if I had it for real.
I had Fugu in 2009, in Tokyo, in some high-end sushi restaurant in the Ginza district (I don't remember the name). It was crazy expensive and not particularly good. I wouldn't have it again. I mainly did it so I could say I've been-there-done-that.
(In point of actual fact, I really was in Tokyo in 2009, and I really did have some crazy-expensive sushi in the Ginza. But I did not have fugu. Never have, never will. The thing that will make you lose respect and credibility in my eyes is being the kind of person who thinks there is value in bragging about having had fugu.)
Fugu is one of those. Requires a highly skilled cook to prepare it and is only available at very few restaurants.
I guess that is the poster's point, that and helping people with more common sense avoid wasting their money.
I've never eaten other foods that numb the mouth.
Being a tourist district I believe there was hardly any poison in the meal. So I definitely will experience it again, properly.
Perhaps up to a full liver one day.
Because as you say, it's pretty hard to actually die from.
Pretty much this. It's a profoundly unexciting, unrewarding fish, especially since any place you can safely get fugu, there's going to be way better fish on offer.
It’s no different from eating oyster. Sure they might kill you, but you don’t expect to be called brave for stuffing yourself at an oyster bar. You eat oysters because you like eating oysters, nothing more, nothing less. The same with fugu.