Have you ever looked at a deliciously ripe heirloom tomato and felt that there was something missing? The minty aftertaste of menthol and regret? A jittery burst of energy? A sudden craving for a 3 a.m. vodka soda sipped on a sweaty dance floor?
If so, you’re not alone. The Twitter girlies — and more notably, Homer Simpson — are right there with you.
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On Wednesday, Twitter user @doxie_gay headed to the platform with a seemingly novel idea for solving America’s ongoing health crisis: infusing our produce with some good ‘ol addictive additives.
“Why don’t they grow healthy foods with nicotine in them?” they asked in a now-viral post, dubbing the concept as “an obvious thing to do.”
Despite garnering support from several commenters in favor of a can’t-have-just-one approach to fruits and veggies — “I’m saying!!!” exclaimed one comment — and know-it-alls who noted that nightshade plants like eggplants and tomatoes do, in fact, already contain trace amounts of nicotine, a few Simpsons fans were quick to point out that this idea was far from original.
Enter Homer’s now infamous GMO monstrosity, the Tomacco.
Appearing in Season 11’s “E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt),” the fruit (technically speaking) came to be after the Simpson family patriarch decided to fertilize tomato seeds and nicotine seeds with a whole lot of plutonium to a “terrible” tasting albeit “smooth and mild” end.
An angry mob of animals grow addicted to the plant — inspiring arguably one of the most iconic levels in The Simpsons: Hit & Run video game.
The Tomacco proved to be pretty short-lived in Springfield, but Monsanto still has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.
