Monday, May 26, 2008

Bite my head off, why don't you

I've been wondering about a curious phenomenon. There are these little jelly candies shaped like men. They are gummy, chewy and coated in sugar, or at least a sugar-like substance. Very healthy, I'm sure. Let's call them Jelly Men.

My kids love Jelly Men. They especially relish in biting their heads off. Like so.


They call out joyfully, "Look, Mommy! I ate his head!" They laugh uproariously. Then they bite off his limbs, one-by-one.


If you think about it, this is quite a disturbing inclination. Why is it that the slow, deliberate amputation of a man-shaped candy should bring such joy? I know that I eat gummy bears in one of two ways. I take a handful and shove them all in my mouth at once (very feminine), or I eat them slowly, biting the head off of each little one. I'm wondering if there is some biological explanation for this. Is it a primal human instinct? Is it our primitive hunter roots coming out?

Or is it that this kind of sadism only runs in my family?

4 comments:

Miki said...

Apparently, the sadism is universal. Seven was telling me that someone he knew explained, "This is how I eat a Jelly Man," and then bit him in the crotch -- the Jelly Man, not Seven. Ewww. Lots of sickos out there in this world!

Jonathan & Jennifer said...

It follows that we like to bite the ears off our easter bunnies first...because people who eat the ass-end first are just gross.

Tilly Cat & Pip-Squeak said...

I think it must be because if you don't eat the head first, your gummi bear will be looking at you accusingly. Now THAT is disturbing.

Anonymous said...

And that's why I don't eat gummy bears anymore! But alas, give me some peeps at Easter and I'll eat the ears right off them - So I guess I'm still just as sick as the rest!