Weird Food of the Week: What IS That Thing in Your Lunch Box?

Photo from http://www.australiantropicalfruits.org.au/tropical_fruits/produce_types/rambutan/

If you bring one of these objects to school or work and pull it out of your lunch box, you might have some explaining to do to your friends.  And you could get pretty creative with it.

You could tell them it’s an alien egg from a cold, distant planet and you have to keep it on ice to make it hatch.

You could tell them it’s an alien egg from a warm, distant planet and you’re keeping it on ice so it won’t hatch.

Or you could say it’s a new kind of atom bomb and you’re going to test it out by blowing up the cafeteria, although this joke is not recommended if you’re in an airport.

You could say it’s a piece of cheese you left in your car for six weeks, but if you scrape off the reddish spiky mold, it should taste okay.

You could say it’s a UFO, then hurl it across the cafeteria and it’ll be true.

Or tell them it’s a new kind of plush toy, the very latest trend, and ask why they don’t have one yet.

Tell them it’s your new pet, and you’re not exactly sure what kind of animal it is, but you thought it looked impressive at the pet store, so you purchased it for $12.99.

Tell them it’s a really fancy carrying case for your miniature smart phone.

Tell them it’s a monster you bred in the science lab and it’s about to hatch any second.  Then ask if they could babysit it while you go get a soda.

Tell them you found it in a barrel of radioactive waste and you have no idea what it is.

Tell them it’s one of those little firecrackers you throw on the ground, only it’s a giant mutant one with a lot of tails, and you’re wondering how loud a bang it’s going to make.

Tell them it’s a sea urchin.

Tell them it’s a big hairy bug.

OR . . . if you’re the type of person who prefers the truth, tell them it’s a rambutan, a kind of tropical fruit.

The spikes are soft and don’t hurt you.  When you peel off the leathery red skin, there’s a sweet and juicy white fruit inside.  The fruit has a pit in the middle.

So after you’re done entertaining your friends with the tall tale of your choice, crack open the shell with your fingernails and take a bite out of the atom bomb (or baby alien, or old cheese, or fancy cell phone, as the case may be).
 

Photo by Zuanzuanfuwa on Wikimedia Commons