Science News Archive

Why a Bucket of Stale Food Is Attractive

Scientists in America have found that people are more willing to eat stale food if it's served to them in a big bucket. The study discovered that if people were given large buckets of popcorn at the cinema, they ate 45 per cent more than people given stale popcorn in a normal size bucket. They also tested normal tasty popcorn, and found that people eating out of large buckets ate even more. So if you give someone food in a big serving, they'll eat it even if it tastes bad. Researchers think that people assume that large portions are actually normal size portions, and so are more willing to eat it all.

13th Nov 2005