Recipes using placentas, embryos and even aborted fetuses of not only the human variety but also of animals were common in Asia right up to now. The Asian belief that you absorb what you eat was literally applied to these yummy little dishes, and soups made from fetuses were given to sterile or pregnant women, supposedly to help them with their condition. Nasty business. In Hong Kong two years ago, the police busted a ring of fetus runners selling their wares for insanely high prices to pharmacies around Asia. Apparently the main source was Japan, where for some reason the birth control pill was still not been legalized, and millions of abortions are performed every year. On a sidenote, Viagra was approved in six months. How ridiculous is that?

It doesn't stop there. Recipes involving the male genetalia of animals were widely consumed for men who are either impotent or desiring a better sex drive. Common animals included tiger and deer. Again, the belief that consuming the essence of another's penis, be it human or not, was supposed to increase your libido. Right......

Just the more macabre side of the story, because it involves the groinal region. It applies to all body parts. For example, pig brain soup was supposed make you smarter. My mother ate that as a kid, it had no obvious effect on her intellect or her grades. I hate superstitions.