5 Creepy Crawlies People Love to Eat

Imagine a place where in addition to the usual Meat and Fish categories on a dinner menu, you had your choice from Insects and Amphibians. If you grew up with it, you probably wouldn't think it unusual in the slightest. In fact, some 1,700 species of bugs are eaten in more than 100 countries around the world.

That's what the waiter at Typhoon restaurant in Santa Monica told me when he saw my jaw drop into my lap upon scanning their menu (ants, sea worms, and frogs' legs are just a few of the delicacies they feature). And no, I wasn't really feeling squeamish, just taken by surprise. Of course, I knew insects were consumed back in ancient Greece and Rome. In fact, the 1st century Roman scholar Pliny wrote that aristocrats enjoyed beetle larvae. And in one of his writings, Aristotle described the ideal time to harvest cicadas for the best taste.

And, sure, I'd heard about people eating dogs in parts of China (check out this vid here for proof—however, not for the faint-of-heart). And, sure, I even know people right here in this country who like to eat things like turtle soup, or shark (thresher shark sandwiches are a staple at this Naples, Florida restaurant), but the items on Typhoon's menu really knocked the wind out of me for a second. And made me curious as to what else I could find on some menus around the world. Here are the results:

1. Scorpions

To insects, all species of scorpions are poisonous and usually deadly. But only a very small number of the more than 1,000 known species can be dangerous to humans. In Singapore, where Scorpions are eaten most often, the bugs are usually fried and then skewered. Some eateries, however, will serve them on a chunk of battered white fish, tempura-style.

2. Grasshoppers

3. Locusts

4. Maguey Worms

5. Crickets

What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten and where did you have it? Would you try it again?