So what do giant hornets, mopeds, and Olympic athletes have in common? Speed for one thing, and maybe a little
magic giant hornet juice. Besides being another reason to be thankful you don’t live in Asia, these 2 inch long
critters have inspired both the super slick moped brand Vespa and provide a molecular code for speed boosters in
Japanese athletes. Now, if you don’t feel the desire to get the mojo directly from the source like this guy:
You can ingest simulated hornet saliva. Doesn’t that sound more appetizing?
Dr. Takahashi Abe who has ingeniously figured out how this special “chain of amino acids” that will put some voom in your step.
The claim is this amino acid structure is what gives Vespa Mandarina (Giant Man-Eating Asian Hornets) the endurance to fly thousands of miles on a few drops of nectar.This goes way beyond ordinary Tiger blood sold on the street.
One ad states:
“The incredible effects of hornet juice have not gone unnoticed in
Japan: The country’s latest sports drink is based on this “hornet
power.” It contains a synthetic form of components in the hornet
larval saliva, which is touted as performance-boosting. Japanese
gold medalist and world-record marathon runner Naoko Takahashi
declared that hornet juice gave her an edge in the Olympic Games
held in Sydney, Australia. “
Here’s a fun Japanese commercial of an overweight man who turns into
Naoko Takahashi through the power of VAAM:
Of course, a statement in a dark corner of the VAAM homepage admits that some of the benefit might be psychological, like if you visualize 4 foot wings sprouted from your torso, and a razor sharp stinger to neutralize the competition as your deafening buzz hurdles you to the finish line…could um, have some effect, right?
For those squeamish about looking at pictures of one of the world’s deadliest insects, I posted this fabulous glasswork by artist Wesley Fleming thats a little easier on the eyes. I think its kind of cute, but does it make you say ‘yum’ ?
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