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If drinking ancient Mummy juice wasn’t your cup of tea and eating Tide Pods didn’t quite hit the spot, perhaps we can tempt you with some “sexy lichen” licked straight from the sidewalk?
People are being warned by experts in New Zealand against eating a lichen that grows on roads, sidewalks, and rocky areas – known as "sexy footpath lichen" – because it’s being touted as a natural alternative to Viagra.
The lichen is being peddled online in a powdered form for up to $300 per kilogram on Chinese e-commerce websites, promising to increase libido and cure erectile dysfunction. Some thrifty punters have even been reportedly licking sidewalks to get a cheap fix, reports New Zealand website Newsroom.
Scientifically known as Xanthoparmelia scabrosa, the lichen does actually contain a PDE5 inhibitor, which may inhibit an enzyme responsible for impotence. While its reputation as a Viagra alternative is not totally unfounded, there’s no actual evidence about whether it's an effective remedy for sexual impotence. However, the lichen on city sidewalks does contain a bucket load of pollutants and heavy metals that have, ironically, been linked to erectile dysfunction.
"This lichen contains a chemical somewhat analogous to Viagra – and somewhat toxic. I always say in my talks that I don't recommend going out and licking the footpath," Dr Allison Knight, a botanist who studies lichen at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told Newsroom.
"It's really quite hard to scrape off the footpath, or anywhere else. Especially trying to scrape it off without getting bits of gritty pebbles and stuff in it."
Dr Knight notes that she coined the phrase "sexy pavement lichen" as a throw-away joke during a talk at the Auckland Botanical Society a few years ago, however, the name appears to have caught on.
She also noted that a US Food and Drug Administration analysis of a lichen powder bought online turned out to be 80 percent Viagra and 20 percent grass clippings. Although that concoction would certainly remedy your ailment, buying expensive mislabeled health products online isn't recommended.
The moral of the story: Don’t lick sidewalks or buy sketchy medicines online, especially if you're just looking to get your rocks off.
Fairly understandable, all this talk of sexy lichen has also kicked off a lot of conversation and hilarity on social media. Enjoy:
