Two weeks ago I linked to the website of a company with plans to sell
human-flavored tofu. I thought it was kind of funny at the time, but after posting the link I didn't think much about it until a few days ago when I received an email from Mark Nuckols, CEO of HUFU (the human tofu company). Mark requested that I remove the post about Hufu from my site, because by mentioning his product on the Museum of Hoaxes, he was concerned that people might think that Hufu wasn't real, or that it was some kind of hoax. Specifically he wrote that,
"having it even come up on "museum of hoaxes" implies something not true, and as a debunker of hoaxes I am sure you don't wish to inadvertently or carelessly libel people trying to undertake the difficult enough task of starting a business."
I told Mark that I thought his product was funny and I definitely supported it, but that I wasn't about to remove the post from my site. I have a real problem about removing things from my site unless they're shown to be false.
My response didn't satisfy Mark, who is now up to his third email to me. He seems like a nice guy, and I'm not certain that he isn't pulling my leg about this whole thing (although his emails sound very serious). But he really wants the post about his company removed. In fact, he's making me feel very guilty. In his last email he said that
"being on your website is going to kill this undertaking in its crib... I am sure putting our business in jeopardy is not your intent." Ouch. But I'm not ready to accept that kind of blame. Sure, my site is called the Museum of Hoaxes, but that doesn't mean that everything on it is a hoax. Plus, the question I raised is a valid one: how would any customers know if this stuff
really does taste like human flesh?
Anyway, my purpose in posting about this is so that if people google 'hufu' and find my site, they'll also see this post where I'm going to state that I don't want to be responsible for the death of Hufu. I genuinely think it's a funny marketing concept, and Mark Nuckols insists that it's real. However, I still don't understand how he can know that it really tastes like human flesh.
Comments
I really can't believe there's much of a serious market out there for this product (I'd be damned worried if there was!); most of any business is going to be students looking for that perfect gift for a flatmate and stuff - in which case this site is just the kind of plug he wants. Or would be, if he wasn't undermining it by making himself look so tarned humourless...
Unfortunately, I'm thirteen and my grandparents would not approve of me buying hufu, even if it is FAKE human flesh.
Zer010
If my experience is any example, the only hoax going on at Hufu is them taking people's money and not delivering anything in exchange. And I believe the technical term for that is Internet Fraud, not hoax.
--rick
Anwyays, I ordered a shirt from them a couple months ago and have yet to receive it, they've charged my card, and I cannot get a response out of them with several emails wondering if it has been shipped or what. Anyone else have any problems?
I say bravo, and please pass the hufu!
No, humans most certainly do not taste like
chicken. They taste most like pork. Just ask
any cannibal.
This fact is well-documented in any number of
slightly soggy but spicy notebooks left behind
by missionaries.
human flesh actually tastes like beef but a bit sweeter and not as tough.
i know this because i have ate flesh and hufu tastes identical to it.
hufu is a very real thing, i advise ppl to try it, its really nice!
sam bee ate some hufu
If i can find it i'll try it, though i dont think it will taste like chicken.
"Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Imagination: The Essential Ingredient in Hufu
... We of course conducted considerable research into the taste of human flesh in developing the hufu concept, but sometimes you have to move ahead with imperfect knowledge. Hufu is meant to be a decent approximation of the taste of human flesh, but it was never intended to be a perfect facsimile. And without imagination, hufu loses much of its taste and effect..."
I wonder if my dogs would like it
His product was first aimed at anthropology students, so they could know what it is like to be cannibals. This seems reasonable enough, because to REALLY learn something about a culture, you must try and think like them, act like them. So I'm sure this product would help the students understand cannibals more.
There's nothing at all wrong with this product, as I see it. It may be a little unorthodox, but aren't a lot of new products at the beginning?
I'm guessing you did not see any stories about Hufu on the news as I did? I think it's stupid to put things as a hoax when you're not even sure if it actually is one.
"I have a real problem about removing things from my site unless they're shown to be false."
Why don't you show that the hoax is TRUE then? Maybe you'd have a better site if you actually tried to prove these things instead of basing it all on your opinion of whether it's true or not?
Thanks.
I never got a confirmation or any info from them, and after several unanswered emails, I had to request a PayPal refund. They never responded to PayPal either, so I got my money back. Lots of people seem to have an opinion on it, but has anyone actually ordered & received HuFu? Almost a year and no happy customers; doesn't sound like a legitimate business to me...
The shirt was never shipped.
I began asking for my money back. None of THESE requests even got a response. It's not Hufu that's the hoah; it's Mark Nuckols: he is defrauding buyers, stealing their money, and laughing at them behind their backs for assuming he has any kind of normal business ethics.
Anyone reading this who would like documentation, please email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject line HUFU and I will provide you with time-stamped copies of the entire correspondence.
Mark Nuckols is a fraud who should be in jail.
--rick
As for the idea of Human Flesh I think it is way ahead of its time. And that the marketing people ripped him off... I mean who really markets with the truth... he should find the hidden persuader!! make it a hush hush elite product. and price it out of reach of the general public. Plus any euphoric qualities would be a bonus!