Taste The TV Concept Serves Up A Lickable Screen And That's Not Gross At All

For the longest time, Skittles’ slogan has been “Taste the Rainbow,” but have you ever considered actually doing that while it is plastered across your screen? Japanese professor Homei Miyashita has, evidently, and has created a prototype lickable TV screen that can mimic the flavor of various foods. While this concept may be gross to some and concerning in the era of COVID-19, Miyashita believes this could be a way to enhance how people interact with the world during the pandemic.

The flavorful screen idea, called “Taste the TV” (TTTV), uses ten different tanks of varying flavors sprayed into a mixture to imitate almost any popular food. This mixture is then put onto a hygienic film on the TV screen for the taster and viewer to try out. While this may raise some eyebrows, this invention could be useful for budding cooks, sommeliers, and other culinary-oriented folks.

📺 ‘Taste the TV’: A Japanese professor has developed a prototype lickable TV screen that can imitate food flavors https://t.co/JWVhiU94z1 pic.twitter.com/ZgxmfTf1Xn

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 23, 2021

In an interview, Miyashita also explained that the “goal is to make it possible for people to have the experience of something like eating at a restaurant on the other side of the world, even while staying at home.” Though this may sound outlandish, Miyashita and his 30-student team believe that a commercial version of this device may cost only 100,000 yen (or $875) to make so that everyone could have one in their home, just like a gaming console or computer.

Despite how bizarre and potentially unsanitary the “Taste The TV” sounds, it is an interesting concept that falls in line with other devices we have seen, such as a VR headset attachment to replicate different scents while flying as a bird. In any event, we will have to see if this tasty television takes off or stays just a concept; but let us know what you think of this in the comments below.

(Top Image Courtesy of REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)