Buzz
Picture yourself watching The Great British Bake Off, when a mouthwatering dessert is created, tempting you to lick your TV screen. Believe it or not, this idea might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
According to Nerdist, Homei Miyashita, a professor at Tokyo’s Meiji University, has developed a TV that you can actually taste—and it’s surprisingly hygienic. The “Taste the TV” (TTTV) device is equipped with 10 canisters, each holding a different flavored spray. These sprays combine to create various flavors, which are then applied to a disposable plastic sheet covering the screen. Just select your flavor, let the machine do its thing, and enjoy the taste.
Miyashita came up with the idea for TTTV during the pandemic, when he realized that while video technology lets us see and hear distant events, it doesn’t yet capture our sense of taste in the same way. With TTTV, as Global News explains, you could theoretically taste dishes prepared in restaurants around the world.
The technology is still in its prototype stage; according to Reuters, the cost to produce a commercial TTTV would be around $875. Even if it doesn’t become a common household item, it may find a niche elsewhere—like in remote learning for chefs and sommeliers, or even in taste-oriented video games. Additionally, the flavor-spraying technology could be adapted for uses beyond television, such as seasoning plain crackers or toast.
Whether TTTV will be remembered as one of the world-changing inventions of our time or one of its strangest remains to be seen.
