
Ah, Valentine's Day.
All the world's rosebushes have buzz cuts and the sound of cha-chings grow ever louder at Pfizer headquarters (a.k.a. Viagraville).
In honor of this day filled with the purest love and lustier musings, I bring you a sneak peak into Cupid's Pharmacy: A Smattering of Historical Aphrodisiacs.
Forget the obvious raw oysters and such. Let's bring on the asparagus and the bugs.
1. Asparagus. Yes, it makes your urine stink. That's a chemical lesson unto itself, but did you know it was considered a go-to dish for French bridegrooms in the 19th century?
2. Spanish Fly. This little bug is really a bug. A beetle, actually. The crushed powder is iridescent like the insect and contains a toxic chemical called cantharidin. When eaten, it causes irritation of the urethra (that's the tube that connect your bladder to the outside world). It can also called priapism (That's an erection that won't go away after 4 hours. Despite what you're thinking, it's painful and NOT a good thing).
3. Conch pistol. In the Caribbean, you can get a freshly made, raw conch ceviche. In the process of hacking the poor invertebrate to bits, the server may offer you this gelatinous, spaghetti-like part of the conch called the pistol. Bahamians swear it's an aphrodisiac. To me, it looks like a Jell-O nightmare.
4. Saffron. It's to dye for, it's expensive, it comes from a crocus, and paella is nothing without it. But, it also contains a chemical, crocin, which has been shown in preliminary studies to work as an aphrodisiac in rats. Pfizer owns all the crocus fields in Kashmir right now.
No. I'm just kidding.
5. Lettuce and Arugula. And you thought salads were just good for your waistline! Well, this isn't really backed by science. It's all hearsay, but hey, maybe it'll get more people eating salads.
Okay. There's a million more aphrodisiacs but Cupid is shutting his pharmacy doors because right now, you just can't afford the copay.
But...he'll be happy to give you a shot, instead.
;)
XOXOXO
Please keep in mind this post is for writing purposes only and is not to be construed as medical advice (see sidebar disclaimer).
If you've got a fictional medical question, let me know! Post below or email me at
All I ask is that you become a follower and post a link on your blog when I post your answer.
Also, don't forget to check out Mental Health Mondays at Laura's Blog and Sarah Fine's The Strangest Situation!
70 comments:
I knew a couple of those, but not willing to try any of them.
Funny!
LOL, great post. =o)
What about oysters??? Never knew why they were considered an aphrodisiac...
Hmmm...maybe it's something about green... Great post!!
How funny! My go to one is Strawberries (though I have no idea if it's true.) ;)
Happy Valentine's Day!
I think watching Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is a good enough aphrodisiac for me. But yours are pretty good too. Except for the conch jello. Ewww.
What a fun post! Happy V-day to you :)
Heh. I knew about the asparagus one from Tom Robbins' Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Lots of dirty asparagus talk in that book.
I can not eat anything that comes from a shell and looks like a pool of snot! I don't care what the side effects! :)
I've never used Spanish Fly, but I knew about it because on an episode of Golden Girls they were trying to breed minks and they wouldn't do it, so they bought Spanish Fly. This only caused the male minks to hump eachother.
Ha! Great post! But I'll stick to champagne... :)
Wow, salad, huh. But its impossible to eat it and be sexy at the same time.
Haha, I never knew asparagus was considered an aphrodisiac! Too funny.
I only knew about the asparagus. So interesting. I think I'll go eat some pizza or something where I won't eat what you listed.
Hmm didn't know that about asparagus:)) Hope your Valentine's day is special:)
LOL! I guess people would try anything for love.
Saffron? Saffron's REALLY expensive. Like, $40 an ounce! (At least, that's the cost of the really good stuff.) I can't imagine using that stuff for anything that doesn't put me into a food-coma.
This post wins for mentioning paella. And every time I hear Spanish Fly, I think of The Beastie Boys and Brass Monkey.
Such a cool post. Maybe that's why I love paella and salads!
Ah yes! Saffron really stirs the senses. I'm getting excited just thinking about it! It's worth the $$ folks. Really. ;)
Funny, funny, Lydia! Who needs a Doc when we have you? ;)
I can't believe people actually eat powder made of crushed beetles. Uck!
Interesting post, Lydia.
Nothing says "I love you" like an irritated urethra.
You are truly a hopeless romantic.
LOL, this is great! I will NOT be consuming asparagus anytime soon, thank you.
Why is it that so many aphrodisiacs are derived from something disgusting? I'll eat the asparagus, but I'm skippin the rest, thanks.
Happy V Day!
Thanks for the shopping list!
Happy Valentine's Day to you!
LOL! Great stuff, Lydia! And I'm just mad about saffron... *snort*
Actually, it was that spanish fly descriptor that made me giggle. Whoopsie! ;p
Have a lovey V'day~ <3
Asparagus - who knew?
Yup, people hearabouts swear by conch, but I just think it's nasty. Ugh!
Haha woww, I didn't know most of these! I love asparagus still, even if it does make my urine stink. 0:-)
Happy Valentine's Day, Lydia!
~TRA
http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com
Haha, these were great. Yeah, won't be having my husband go near any spanish flies.
I'm sticking to my lettuce and greenery!!! Saffron is such a nice name!! Happy Valentine's!!!Take care
x
Special hints for the best V-day ever! ;)
Poisons as aphrodisiacs? Ah, Victor Standish will pass. His love affair with a ghoul is dangerous enough! Fascinating post as always. Roland
:)trying to figure out a dish with all of these ingredients...OR I can just go with pizza.
OH aphrodisiacs!!! The spanish fly just sounds AWFUL!
Hey there! I'm a fellow Crusader and wanted to stop by and say "hi". What a fun day to "meet" you! Great post! : )
LOL. Who knew?
Awesome!
Awesome!
So what are you serving up for Valentines? Got to laugh! The mention of strawberrys. I got some. If I'm lucky I might get time to dip them into some chocolate. Happy Valentines!
Rosebushes and buzz-cuts, eh? :) Too funny! Interesting about the asparagus...don't suppose the shape...well, maybe I won't finish that sentence. :o Btw, you won a prize over on my blog today! Congrats ~
I knew about the asparagus but I didn't know about the Spanish Fly. Eww!
Garlic, roses, cinnamon, vanilla - all aphrodisiacs. I don't like garlic but I'll eat all the others.
Jai
Cute and as usual, very interesting!
LOL. Great post!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Wow, I never would have suspected lettuce.
Happy Valentines! :D
Ewww the Spanish Fly thing sounds AWFUL! Wonder how many people had to grind it up and eat it to figure that out...This was awesome for Valentines Day!!
Fun to read about and write about but taking them is totally different.
I will never look at Asparagus with a straight face again. There will always be that question....
When I was in school, the guys used to joke about Spanish Fly. Bet they wouldn't now, huh? Interesting and fun, thanks!
That's totally cool.
Lol! A lovely valentine's lesson, haha!!
Hi Fellow Crusader! Just wanted to say hi - hope to see you around.
-Vicki
Ha! Love this. Happy V Day!
This was hilarious (and informative). I would have believed that Pfizer had bought up all the crocus fields in Kashmir. It might make me less bitter about the price of Saffron! Now, I have a good excuse to get the hubster to let me buy it. ;-)
We eat salad everyday. No wonder my husband and I are so happy. Bugs? Ew.
I knew I loved salad for good reason! ;)
Too funny! Thanks for the history lesson. :)
Hi, Lydia,
I loved the post...
I hopped over from the Crusader list to introduce myself and to follow.
I hope you had a great Valentine's day.
Michael
Great post! Time to go shopping. LOL
Hi Lydia, love your blog. I just found it on the crusader list and am now following. Nice to meet you!
People will eat the strangest things for their labido! Bugs, ick! I didn't know about most of these. Very interesting! Happy Valentine's day!
You know, I wonder how many of these 'cures' came from witch doctors? Wouldn't want to make them mad, though. That may be where the Spanish Fly powder came from! Thanks for the great post! Who woulda thunk?
Hi Lydia..I didn't know about any of these. Was just familiar with oysters and chocolates. Enjoyed the post.
Wishing you a Belated Valentine's Day.
I only knew about asparagus and saffron. I think it's useful to know about others :)
Fascinating info! Thanks for sharing:).
Too funny! I didn't know about the lettuce. Very interesting!
Oh this was too cute. I think it was my favorite valentines blog... Love the 'what you eat' twist on love.
Ah, stinky pee and bugs. Lydia, you're such a romantic. ;)
I think you feel the same way about romance that I do, maybe? Hmmmm? lol
Oooh ouch on that second one! Salad sounds good - I'm surprised you didn't mention chocolate, or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part!
Banned complain !! Complaining only causes life and mind become more severe. Enjoy the rhythm of the problems faced. No matter ga life, not a problem not learn, so enjoy it :)
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