New Adventure #12: Flavor Tripping

Have you heard of Miracle Berries? I thought they were a myth when I first heard of them. They're a funny little fruit that, when eaten, changes your perceptions of flavors such that sour foods taste sweet. 

You can get them in convenient tablet form here. (And they're perfectly legal and safe, nothing shady!)

I got to try them when some friends had a "flavor tripping" party. You just roll one tablet around on your tongue until it dissolves and then taste away! It was great fun trying different foods after my sense of taste was altered. Lemons were my favorite. The sourness wasn't completely gone, but they tasted like the most delicious sweet lemonade. 

Be aware that only your taste-buds are affected, not your tummy. If you drink a bottle of lemon juice it will taste delicious, but the miracle berries won't protect you from the stomach ache after.

New Adventure #11: Casino Trip

I always imagined casinos to be glittering, luxurious, otherworldly places. I pictured sparkling fountains, exquisitely dressed dealers, and sequined lounge singers. Well perhaps some casinos are like that, but Delaware Park casino and slots parlor is much more of this world.

Before my trip, the extent of my gambling experience was playing poker with my siblings, using our Halloween candy for stakes. Given my luck on this trip, I should probably stick with that in the future. I didn't try any table games, but my luck with the slots wasn't stellar.

I learned that different machines have different costs and stakes. Some are $1 a spin, or $5 or $20 or $0.25 or $0.05 or even $0.01. I decided I like the nickle machines best. You can play the penny machines forever without using up all your money, but you also never seem to make any, even if you get lucky a lot. The dollars and quarters are too prone to wild swings up and down, but with the nickles you can win enough to feel substantial without losing it all too fast.

I started off with a $20 bill and resolved not to spend more than that. As probably won't surprise the wise, I promptly lost it all and broke my pledge by starting another $20 bill. I had a run of luck and managed to win back my losses. I called that good enough and cashed out my $40.

All in all, I don't think this is a pastime for me. Pulling the lever on the machine was sort of fun and felt like being in a movie, and some of the graphics were amusing, but the sheer randomness of the pursuit started to get to me pretty quickly. I couldn't discern that there was any skill involved, except noticing which machines had slightly better advertised odds than others. People watching was more interesting. A few people were very excited, and it was fun to watch them cheer their wins, mourn their losses, and encourage their machines, but most people seemed a lot like robots - staring blankly at their screens and mechanically pressing buttons.

I'll certainly try another casino if I ever find myself in Las Vegas, but otherwise I think this experience was quiet sufficient.