50 ‘Forbidden Foods’ You Should Never, Ever Eat (New Pics)

In their day-to-day life, people tend to go with the flow and take things for granted. However, what youreyes seeand what’s realdoesn’t alwaysmatch up. And just because your stomach starts a-rumbling when you see something delicious doesn’t mean that it’s actually edible. Welcome to the weird world of ‘forbidden food.’Our team here atBored Pandahas cherry-picked some of the most impactful images from all over the internet where completely inedible things look like food. That sandwich over there? Look closer—that’s a rock. That slice of bacon? A mouth-watering crystal. And, no, those aren’t olives next to that pizza… Scroll down to see some impressive examples of forbidden food.Warning: you might start getting strangely hungry all of a sudden! Just… don’t end up nibbling on any rocks! Promise?Bored Panda reached out toGlenn Geher, Ph.D., who shed some light on the food human beings are naturally attracted to from an evolutionary history perspective. Dr. Geher is a professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz and apublished author. You’ll find our full interview with him as you read on.This post may includeaffiliate links.

This post may includeaffiliate links.

Today At The Beach I Found A Rock That Looked Like A Sandwich

“For the lion’s share of human evolutionary history, the only foods that existed were natural foods. So on one hand, it makes sense that we would be attracted to foods that have a resemblance to natural foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables are examples,“Dr. Geherexplained to Bored Panda in an email.

“On the other hand, humans are omnivores. And from an evolutionary perspective, omnivores have an interesting approach to food. Omnivores evolved a curiosity regarding a variety of foods. This is why sometimes an omnivore will taste something that they may have never had before just to see if it tastes good and might be edible,” he said.

Forbidden Mentos

House Cleaner… Whose Idea Was This?

“Humans evolved largely under conditions in which famine was common. Under such conditions, humans evolved to like food that would put fat cells on their bodies so as to help prepare for adverse conditions. We like foods that are very high in carbohydrates and salts because, in combination, these foods do that,”Dr. Gehersaid.

My Used Soap Bar Looks Like Chicken Breast

Forbidden Steak (Tree Trunk)

Forbidden Vampire Dippin' Dots (Frozen Blood From A Patient With An Incredibly Rare Blood Attribute)

“Under ancestral conditions, such food preferences were healthy and adaptive. Under modern conditions, however, the world is not always matched to those ancestral conditions. Today, we have many processed foods that are extremely high in carbohydrates and salt (think doughnuts!),” he explained.“People still tend to like foods like this because our ancestral tendencies have not had time to evolve in a way to match modern conditions— conditions under which food is plentiful. This is partly why we often prefer foods such as cookies, even if these foods tend to be very unhealthy today. This is a classic example of what we call evolutionary mismatch.”

“People still tend to like foods like this because our ancestral tendencies have not had time to evolve in a way to match modern conditions— conditions under which food is plentiful. This is partly why we often prefer foods such as cookies, even if these foods tend to be very unhealthy today. This is a classic example of what we call evolutionary mismatch.”

This Stacked Rock Formation

Forbidden Chocolate (I Believe They Go Under Table’s Legs To Prevent Scuffs)

If This Wasn’t A Bar Of Soap, It’d Make A Great Piece Of Steak

One of the main lessons to learn from this post is that you should never ever exclusively rely on just one of your senses to make sense of the world. When your senses work in concert, you get a far more nuanced picture of reality than when you’re left using just one of them as a crutch.Now, pair that up with an instinctNOTto taste anything before fully examining it and you’re golden. (And to be fair, we’re not judging anyone. Many of us have accidentally popped some home decor knick-knacks or potpourri into our mouths, thinking it was candy.)In other words, before you take a big juicy bite out of whatever tasty treat you’ve found in a decorative bowl at your friends, examine it. Sure, it might look like candy, but does it smell like it? What does the thing feel like? What’s its texture and weight? If you take just a bit of time to examine the thing, you’ll probably quickly realize that it’s not edible at all. In other words, you’ve found an example of forbidden food. Snap a pic and share it online. There are lots of online communities that love things like this.

Now, pair that up with an instinctNOTto taste anything before fully examining it and you’re golden. (And to be fair, we’re not judging anyone. Many of us have accidentally popped some home decor knick-knacks or potpourri into our mouths, thinking it was candy.)

In other words, before you take a big juicy bite out of whatever tasty treat you’ve found in a decorative bowl at your friends, examine it. Sure, it might look like candy, but does it smell like it? What does the thing feel like? What’s its texture and weight? If you take just a bit of time to examine the thing, you’ll probably quickly realize that it’s not edible at all. In other words, you’ve found an example of forbidden food. Snap a pic and share it online. There are lots of online communities that love things like this.

Forbidden Ice Cream Sandwich

Forbidden Peeled Oranges

Visiting China And Found These Stones That Look Like Pork Belly

Many of us have been taught in school that there are five main senses:seeing, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Then there’s the mystical ‘sixth sense’ that fans of the paranormal mention when talking about intuition. Real life is far more complex than just that.Our perceptions are very literally in our heads. “You don’t experience sensations with your sense organs. You experience them with your brain,”BBC Science Focusexplains.Truth be told, we have way more senses than we’ve been taught. Those five main senses we’ve mentioned? They’re known as exteroperceptive senses. In short, your exteroperceptive senses provide information about the world that’s external to us.According to the BBC, your body also has lots of receptors inside that register things you’re generally not aware of. Like the beating of your heart, the expanding of your lungs, what’s going on in your stomach, etc. These get grouped up into what’s called interoception, as it’s related to your interior world (aka what’s inside of you).

Our perceptions are very literally in our heads. “You don’t experience sensations with your sense organs. You experience them with your brain,”BBC Science Focusexplains.

Truth be told, we have way more senses than we’ve been taught. Those five main senses we’ve mentioned? They’re known as exteroperceptive senses. In short, your exteroperceptive senses provide information about the world that’s external to us.

According to the BBC, your body also has lots of receptors inside that register things you’re generally not aware of. Like the beating of your heart, the expanding of your lungs, what’s going on in your stomach, etc. These get grouped up into what’s called interoception, as it’s related to your interior world (aka what’s inside of you).

Forbidden Ham Slices (It’s Soap)

Forbidden Froot Loops

Forbidden Honey (Untouched Violin Rosin)

The science of sensing is fairly nuanced. Most people don’t tend to think of things like feeling temperature to be a sense, even though we have receptors for this. Meanwhile, some receptors are used for different things.One example of this would be your retinas. Yes, they’re directly related to your sight. However, retinal cells also let you know whether it’s day or night, which is essential for your circadian rhythm, metabolism, and sleep/waking cycle.In the meantime, your body’s functions can affect how your senses interact with the world. The BBC explains that when your heart contracts, pushing blood out to your arteries, your brain actually takes in less visual information from your environment. In other words, the beating of your heart affectsyour sight. Your interior literally affects how you perceive what’s external to you. But that’s not all. Your brain also predicts what you might see before you actually see it based on your previous experiences.Your brain typically doesn’t rely on just one group of receptors to construct what you know as senses. In practical terms, look at something like the flavor of food. Sure, there’s the gustatory (aka taste) data to consider. But that’s not enough. Your brain also considers olfactory (aka smell) data. Furthermore, it looks at the information gained from touch and temperature to distinguish whether food is wet.

One example of this would be your retinas. Yes, they’re directly related to your sight. However, retinal cells also let you know whether it’s day or night, which is essential for your circadian rhythm, metabolism, and sleep/waking cycle.

In the meantime, your body’s functions can affect how your senses interact with the world. The BBC explains that when your heart contracts, pushing blood out to your arteries, your brain actually takes in less visual information from your environment. In other words, the beating of your heart affectsyour sight. Your interior literally affects how you perceive what’s external to you. But that’s not all. Your brain also predicts what you might see before you actually see it based on your previous experiences.

Your brain typically doesn’t rely on just one group of receptors to construct what you know as senses. In practical terms, look at something like the flavor of food. Sure, there’s the gustatory (aka taste) data to consider. But that’s not enough. Your brain also considers olfactory (aka smell) data. Furthermore, it looks at the information gained from touch and temperature to distinguish whether food is wet.

I Made A Blanket That Rolls Up To Look Like Sushi

Forbidden Ice Cream Cone

This Shampoo In Italy Looks So Much Like Orange Juice They Tell You Not To Drink It

According to the‘Sensory Trust’charity, depending on how you classify things, you can have as many as 21 senses. That’s jaw-dropping! On top of that, if you consider things like hunger and thirst, you could technically have even more.Among all the different senses, you have things like thermoception (sensing heat), nociception, (perceiving pain), equilibrioception (related to feeling balance), and proprioception (the perception of body awareness, e.g., touching your nose with your eyes closed). Some researchers go even further beyond.

Among all the different senses, you have things like thermoception (sensing heat), nociception, (perceiving pain), equilibrioception (related to feeling balance), and proprioception (the perception of body awareness, e.g., touching your nose with your eyes closed). Some researchers go even further beyond.

Nothing Like Practically Starting From Scratch With Forbidden Noodles

Forbidden Flying Dorito

Forbidden Bacon

Michael J. Cohen, an eco-psychologist, even argues that human beings have 53 senses. He classifies the senses into four categories.The first group includes the radiation senses, such as sensing color and temperature.The second category includes the feeling senses, from sensing gravity and air to wind pressure and motion.

Michael J. Cohen, an eco-psychologist, even argues that human beings have 53 senses. He classifies the senses into four categories.

The first group includes the radiation senses, such as sensing color and temperature.

The second category includes the feeling senses, from sensing gravity and air to wind pressure and motion.

If You Like Watermelon Jolly Rancher’s, Then This Is The Soap For You

Forbidden Grapes

Someone Ate The Forbidden Cheese At My Gym

The third category, according to Cohen, includes chemical senses like hunger (for food, water, or air), as well as your relationship with pheromones.The fourth and final category includes mental senses such as external and internal pain, mental or spiritual distress, a sense of self, as well as your relationships with other people, and even your psychic capacity.Cohen argues that your senses are meant to help you survive in the natural world. However, in the modern world, your senses end up either over-sensitive or atrophied, leading to stress and anxiety.

The third category, according to Cohen, includes chemical senses like hunger (for food, water, or air), as well as your relationship with pheromones.

The fourth and final category includes mental senses such as external and internal pain, mental or spiritual distress, a sense of self, as well as your relationships with other people, and even your psychic capacity.

Cohen argues that your senses are meant to help you survive in the natural world. However, in the modern world, your senses end up either over-sensitive or atrophied, leading to stress and anxiety.

Forbidden Olives

Get The Strawberry Flavor

Pink Lake, Melbourne. Recently Saw This And Can Honestly Say The Water Really Looks Like Strawberry Milk

So, dear Pandas, we’ve got to know: have you ever tried to eat something that was clearly inedible even though it looked like it was food?

Have you ever accidentally tasted forbidden food? How quickly did you realize your mistake? Which of the things we’ve featured in this list would genuinely have tricked you into having a bite?

Forbidden Food. I Saw This At An Art Museum I Went To Today

These Were Cheaper Than Your Standard Plastic Trays, But Now My Seed Starters Just Kind Of Look Like Chocolate Cake

No-No Minties

Forbidden Olive

Forbidden Fruit Snacks (They Are Scent Chips - Scents Compacted Into A Small Wax Shape That Are Melted On Wax Melters To Release A Specific Scent)

I Guess I Don’t Have To Mop The Floor With The Cursed Spaghetti Anymore

Mentos Shampoo And Conditioner, Brazil

Forbidden Honey

Forbidden Chia Seeds (Frog Eggs)

Saw These Non-Edible “Bath Dusts” At Walmart. Seems Like A Bad Idea

Forbidden Twizzlers

Forbidden Boba

Croissants Have Just Been Baked

Forbidden Toast (It’s Insulation Foam I Think)

Forbidden Snack

Forbidden Juice Aisle (Fabuloso Multi-Purpose Cleaners)

Forbidden Milk

Spaghetti On A Conveyor Belt

Forbidden Chicken Breast

Forbidden Hotdogs

Forbidden Candies From The Dispenser

This Plant Looks Like A Giant Asparagus

Forbidden Sushi

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Never Eat A Mushroom You Can’t 100% Identify. That Said, Mm, Donut

This Rock Looks Like A Filet

Forbidden Soda (Lava Lamp Bottle)

Forbidden Tequila Sunrise

Forbidden A5 Japanese Wagyu Steak (This Is A “Grow Your Own Dinosaur” Toy After 4 Years Of Being In A Jar)

She now has glitter in her braces but says it was in fact satisfying. A real “teenagers scare the living hell out of me” moment.

Me And My Sister Were Talking About How These Little Glittery Decorative Balls Look So Satisfying To Bite Into And My 15-Year-Old Niece Walks Up And Bites One In Half