Sorting out Weird-Weird from Regular-Weird

When learning about a new fad from Asia, it’s easy to almost instinctively think, “Argh! What?! That’s so weird!”

But a lot of these trends are pretty banal, when we take a step back and realize, for instance, that America actually has cat fashion shows.

Take Japan’s foodie culture surrounding B-grade cuisine, which has been dubbed crazy by numerous articles this month.

It’s actually not that weird. The idea is to combine a bunch of cheap pleasure foods that would make any food critic vomit his black soul, but would make a normal person feel happy.

Have you ever substituted barbecue potato chips for corn chips in your nachos?
How about spreading cream cheese on a tortilla with hot sauce?
And then there’s Jack Black’s famous McSurf n’ Turf, which includes vegetables (ketchup), fruit (orange soda), and meat (beef/fish/chicken/pork).

These are all fine things.

Now, if I could only verify that this doorknob-licking thing is real, I won’t feel so bad about putting my cat on the runway this weekend.