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Comment by kelseydh | Hacker News Reader

When I was young I had a weird cognitive bias where I would think that if something tasted curious or different, that it must be good for you in some way.

E.g. the odd taste of licorice. Must mean that it was healthy or good right? Turns out licorice really isn't good for you. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/10/28/black-licorice-is-a...

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How to know that an article about licorice is from the US: they include the "black" qualifier. As if there were any other kind! To me (Swedish) the normal/expected qualifier is "sweet" (yes please) or "salty" (oh yes indeed thank you very much).

The concept of "red licorice" [1] is simply ... foreign. :) It's also fun and interesting as a word/food, since it focuses on the texture of a food and re-uses the word, even though the word is tightly coupled to the flavor.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquorice_(confectionery)#Red_...

We do have those funny coloured "licorices" in Spain, but anybody with have a brain knows that the real one is black, and the others just happen to share the same shape xD

Having said that, my favourite is that salty stuff you guys have up there in the North.

My rule is that if other human beings eat something for pleasure (and not out of desperation, a dare, or to show off), then I should at least try it a few times as long as I don’t have ethical qualms about it.

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