January 13, 2006
Harmonic Convergence
If you widely read enough, connections start popping up in the unlikeliest of places. To wit, a quote from this article in Slate:
Shrimp is, in fact, the most-consumed seafood in the United States. According to the National Fisheries Institute, the average American ate 4.2 pounds of the curved critters in 2004, up from to 2.2 pounds in 1990. How did shrimp surpass canned tuna, the longtime seafood champ, and become the nation's favorite marine nibble?
Koerner goes on to credit a "shrimp-farming revolution." There is one factor, however, that he neglects to credit. See this article in the New York Post:
A wacky "flying shrimp" stunt a Long Island woman claims killed her husband was inspired by a Jackie Chan comedy, a court heard yesterday in the opening of a $10 million lawsuit against the famed Benihana restaurant chain.Toru Hasegawa, the head chef of a Munsey Park branch in Nassau County, said his staff began the popular practice of winging hot shrimp into diners' mouths after the release of the Chan flick "Mr. Nice Guy" in 1998.
Obviously the fact that we no longer take the time to put shrimp on plates has led to our ability to consume ever-increasing amounts of the decapod crustacean.