Eating With A Mirror Makes Food Taste Better, Says Scientist

Eating is a social activity, but from time to time one might find oneself dining all alone. Unfortunately, dining solo can be less enjoyable and even make food taste less pleasurable, but one scientist says eating in front of a mirror helps trick a person's mouth into tasting food as though he or she has company.

According to Rocket News 24, Ryuzaburo Tanaka, a psychology researcher at Nagoya University, has suggested that people eating alone set mirrors in front of themselves so they can watch themselves eat, which will theoretically make people feel more like they are eating with friends.

"This simulates the atmosphere of sharing a meal with someone, and I believe it helps to enhance the deliciousness of the food being eaten," Tanaka said.

Setting a mirror on the table isn't going to trick anybody into thinking that they are actually eating with other people, but it might be worth a try. It's probably an experiment that is best done at home, though, because eating at a restaurant with a mirror on the table is the kind of thing that would make a person look like a Grade-A narcissist. If one is embarrassed to be seen eating by oneself at a restaurant, it is probably more socially acceptable to just bring a book.