A 24-Hour Trip
I See Little People
If you ate food that made your stomach upset, you'd probably take an antacid and then avoid that particular food in the future. But what if you ate something that made your mind upset?
Lanmaoa asiatica, a wild mushroom sold in markets and restaurants across southwestern China, is known to cause hallucinations, yet people keep eating it. This summer staple is prized for its flavor, but people who eat it undercooked often report seeing swarms of tiny people — sometimes thousands — teasing them with lewd gestures.
Say hello to my little friends!
Hundreds of people in China's Yunnan province experience these tiny terrorists every year during the summer mushroom season. Yunnan Hospital records show that 96% of patients treated for eating Lanmaoa asiatica reported seeing little people or elves. Others describe highly-rendered gnomes, clowns, and fairy-like figures in bright colors, dancing, climbing chairs, crawling under doorways, and diving off spoons into soup bowls. All without a pair of $600 VR goggles.
In addition to China, indigenous communities in the northern Philippines and Papua New Guinea have experienced these Lilliputian hallucinations, which can take 12–24 hours to kick in and last for several days. According to Colin Domnauer, a University of Utah researcher, scientists have been studying Lanmaoa asiatica since the 1960s. He says progress on his experiments with lab mice has been "exciting", but they're still a ways off from pinpointing the active ingredient.
The mice could not be reached for comment.
I See No Point
This is usually where I'd turn the corner. A strange story, a sharp turn, and suddenly we're talking about your Tuesday staff meeting.
I tried. For two weeks.
I tried connecting this story about a bunch of imaginary Tiny Tims to how we measure things at work. Then to how we blame people for problems that happen to everyone. Then to the stories we tell about the hard times we survived. Every angle fought me. Every one felt like forcing a square peg into a very small round hole.
It turns out some stories are just funny. This is one of them.
It's also been a heavy week — the kind that makes the funny harder to find.
Since I always try to send something honest rather than something forced, I'm taking a few weeks to rethink Sunday Setup: what it is, how it works, and what it could be.
I'll be back on November 1, but while I'm gone, I'd love your help with this rethink.
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