Freaky Fruits And Other Food MRIs

Get ready. Everything about this is delightful.

^Watermelon

If you find yourself on Inside Insides, Andy Ellison's blog, you will not only be dazzled by animated MRIs of food — but also left dying to know: What is this all about?! There's no explanation, no background info, no e-mail address. Just dancing, ghostly produce on black.

^{Patty-Pan Squash}

The image titles alone are sure to tickle: "The long-awaited pomegranate," "Snap peas, several" and Patty-pan squash." Same goes for the sparse text:

^{I will note that pitted fruits and vegetables (peach, mango, avocado) tend to be pretty boring ... which is sad, but alas, true.}

^{P.S. Eggplant is on its way.}

^Eggplant

Fortunately, Ellison responded via e-mail to a comment I had left. The mysterious fellow behind this blog is actually a Boston-based research technologist. Still, what kind of irresponsible hospital is letting its employees use expensive equipment to scan food? Ellison's response is legit:

^{I'm not taking time on the scanner that could be used for a clinical scan or anything like that, which is what some people think. No, instead I use the fruits and vegetables to warm up the scanner and do a kind of quality assurance of the machine. ... Some have been easier to image than others but mostly they end up looking beautiful.}

^{Oh and attached, pumpkin, for your viewing pleasure.}

^Pumpkin

I sent Ellison this list of weird foods, hoping one might end up on his blog. "Those freaky fruits are fantastic, if only I could find some of them," he lamented. So if you have jabuticaba or other freaky fruits lying around, send them Ellison's way.

^{Snap Peas, Several}

^{The Long-Awaited Pomegranate}