Fruit Cake & Dripping, but no Oyster
August 23, 2013 7:20 AM   Subscribe

49 Years in the making, a map of how London Tube stops 'taste' to lexical-gustatory synaesthesia sufferer James Wannerton.

Click on the map in the link for a larger image.

Transport for London tube maps here for comparison.
posted by Markb (23 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Interesting: these are such old-school English flavours for the most part—there’s no pizza or chicken tikka masala, for example. And some are proper historical curiosities: surely only a synæsthete of a certain age would taste an Aztec bar in connection with West Brompton. The non-foodstuff flavours are evocative too: wet sand, 3-in-1 oil, sealing wax, fuzzy felt…. Others still are flavourings fit for Mrs. Quoad’s candy bowl: burnt potato & chocolate; jam sponge & minced beef; mince pies & marmite…
posted by misteraitch at 8:02 AM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]


Ice Cream Cone, represent!
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:04 AM on August 23, 2013


I really hope the UK Synaesthesia Association and TFL deceide to sell these posters to raise money. I want one for my wall!
posted by pointystick at 8:06 AM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


Flumps?
posted by Gordafarin at 8:09 AM on August 23, 2013


Flumps!
posted by misteraitch at 8:10 AM on August 23, 2013


What is Fruit Cake Dripping?
posted by Going To Maine at 8:24 AM on August 23, 2013


It took him 49 years to get around the Tube? Here I was thinking a 7 minute delay is pretty unacceptable..
posted by fight or flight at 8:25 AM on August 23, 2013


"...sufferer..."
FTFY.
posted by GoingToShopping at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2013


> What is Fruit Cake Dripping?

It’s Fruit Cake & Dripping: two great tastes that don’t taste great together…
posted by misteraitch at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2013


Could be a look-up reference for a spy code: "We'll deliver the packages after a lunch of Carmelized Lamb and Burnt Jam Roly-Poly *wink wink*".
posted by King Sky Prawn at 8:37 AM on August 23, 2013


My local station tastes of sour pips, apparently. I don't even know what that is, but I can only assume it smells of piss.
posted by Decani at 8:42 AM on August 23, 2013


Those are some seriously British flavours. (see what I did there?)
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:56 AM on August 23, 2013


I wonder how MeFi users 'taste' to lexical-gustatory synaesthesia sufferer James Wannerton.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 9:07 AM on August 23, 2013


"Mini Hovis", "Fish finger sandwich" haha, this guy is so English he's making me feel French.
posted by forgetful snow at 9:13 AM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


My nearest stop is Poppets. This makes me feel happy
posted by fallingbadgers at 9:46 AM on August 23, 2013


Those are some seriously British flavours. (see what I did there?)

Helpfully translated for Americans: Those are some seriosly British flavors.
posted by Naberius at 10:27 AM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


So it's like the little guide on the back of a box of chocolates for Godzilla.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:39 AM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


This would work well for wine reviews ..

Turnpike Lane Merlot, 2011. A sturdy, full-bodied red with a long aftertaste, lingering on the tongue like a High Barnet train held at Camden Town to regulate the service. The rich toasty flavours hit you on the tongue before you can say ‘Mind the gap’, but the bouquet weaves a subtle interplay of burnt oak and vanilla, with occasional sooty notes (think District Line escalator) and musky hints of sweat and urine to provide a complex finish. Serve with pasta or red meat.

Oyster Card Chardonnay, 2012. Crisp and aromatic, this blend of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc is delicately scented with spring blossom like the wind blowing through the liftshaft at Belsize Park. Top notes of apple and citrus are followed by tunnel dust and a faint smell of burning. Best enjoyed slowly, like a replacement bus service due to planned engineering works. Serve with chicken or seafood.
posted by verstegan at 10:55 AM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


Aside from the awesomeness of this, WOW, this guy has tasted a lot of things.
posted by Kitteh at 11:08 AM on August 23, 2013


I wonder how MeFi users 'taste' to lexical-gustatory synaesthesia sufferer James Wannerton.

Heh - I once worked with someone who had color-personality synaesthesia (as he got to know someone, he perceived their very personality as having a faint color quality, like a person "having an aura" only way more specific as to color), and the very first thing that happened after he confessed this to a roomful of people was all of us eagerly asking "ooh, what color am I?"

(Apparently I am a dark slate-grayish blue.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:54 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]


maybe it's in the article ( I skimmed ) but I'm love to know what the food words themselves taste like to him. What do the words "Bigga marrowfat peas" taste like, for example?
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 3:13 PM on August 23, 2013


I'm love to know what the food words themselves taste like to him. What do the words "Bigga marrowfat peas" taste like, for example?

[thinks about this]


.....my god it's full of stars
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:45 PM on August 23, 2013


The best guess (though far from certain), I'd think, is that "Bigga marrowfat peas" tastes like Bigga marrowfat peas. Wikipedia has this to say about another case:

Synesthetic tastes tend to be triggered by the corresponding food-name (e.g., for synesthete JIW, the word 'mince' triggers the taste of mince) as well as by words that share phonemes (i.e., speech sounds) with that food-name (e.g., 'prince', 'cinema').
posted by finka at 1:51 PM on August 25, 2013


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