From ‘fast’ to ‘flying’ food
EVERY now and then somebody comes up with a really interesting idea, and last week’s brilliant idea, for me, was the announcement of the invention of an edible drone.
Drones are now becoming quite common as surveillance devices, weapons, photographic equipment and so on, but this was the first time I had ever considered one you could eat.
Called the Pouncer, it’s the brainchild of a British design team. The prototype drone is made of wood, but the designers say it will later be made of edible material.
Imagine a model plane built of macaroni or matzos. All you’d have to do is capture it, boil it, eat it and spit out the engine.
Designed to ferry emergency supplies and food to natural disaster areas and war-torn zones, Pouncer can be loaded with enough food to keep 50 people alive for a day. Unlike parachute drops of emergency supplies, Pouncer can apparently be guided to a selected spot with some accuracy. Parachutes tend to drift with the wind and often deliver the emergency supplies into enemy hands.
Imagine. It lands in a war-ravaged town where the desperate folk approach it with caution. They’ve seen what can happen to people who play with drones! The bravest villager prods the Pouncer with his rifle butt and it splits open and pours out a kilo of rice, packets of instant soup powder and a pack of bandages. Hey! This is like a piñata! Party, everyone!
I wonder whether the idea can be developed on a larger scale. Just think of a whole airliner built of rice noodles with marshmallow upholstery and liquorice tyres.
If it should ever crash in a remote region, the passengers will simply pull off the wings, add gravy and sit down to a desert picnic. “Care for another piece of wing?” “Not for me thanks. I’m a fuselage man really, but I wouldn’t mind nibbling on a small piece of undercarriage.”
It could add a whole new meaning to the phrase: “Airline food”. We live in interesting times! MILKING IT If you’re looking for a reason to celebrate (and every new day is reason enough!), I am told today (February 27) is South Africa’s National Milk Tart Day.
I’m not sure how one celebrates important occasions like this but the obvious answer would be to take the day off work, bake yourself a milk tart and invite a good friend to share it.
I think a good Muscadel would be an appropriate accompaniment.
Maybe if the idea catches on we can petition for it to be declared a public holiday.
Anyway, whether you observe NMTD or not, have a good one. LAST LAUGH The family were out shopping one Saturday, with Dad at the wheel, Mom seated next to him and the two kids in the back, listening to the conversation in the front.
They drew into a space in the mall parking area and Mom got out, telling the rest to wait for a few minutes as she was just popping into the pharmacy for one item.
In the silence that followed her exit, one little voice front the back said: “Dad, before you met Mom, who told you how to drive?”