Have I Murdered Hufu?

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.

Food

Posted on Wed Jun 01, 2005



Comments

Alex- you are weaving a path of destruction with your links to some of these sites... Have you no remorse, have you no regret, have you no lawyers?
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Wed Jun 01, 2005  at  10:01 PM
I've heard many times in movies that human flesh tastes like chicken.

And as they say, if it's in a movie, then it must be true!
Posted by Guillaume Choquette  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  06:14 AM
Are they kidding? They're knocking back free advertising? So many more people will know about their product if people link to it.
I'm surprised they havent started up a secret splinter group to try and ban the product on religous/ethical reasons.
Posted by Bruce  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  06:29 AM
This guy's crazy if he thinks he can create "human-flavoured tofu" and expect people to take him seriously. Whether or not he's been linked to from Museum of Hoaxes, he's fighting an uphill battle to gain any kind of credibility. Not to mention that according to the website, Hufu is back-ordered. Is it even possible to buy it?
Posted by AqueousBoy  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  07:18 AM
What part of human flesh does it tastes like? It could as well tastes like anus, one never know. Not that I have anything against Mark Nuckols eating anuses.
Posted by teh ghey  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  07:30 AM
Can it be eaten with fava beans?
Posted by Citizen Premier  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  07:52 AM
Has anyone ever TRIED Hufu? There are no pictures of the actual product on the site, no reports from people other than the creators who have tasted it. If it actually exists... why has no one seen it?
Posted by gdub  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  08:58 AM
IF the tofu actually exists, he'd be a fool not to mail you a sample.
Posted by Princess Hoo-Dee-Doo  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  09:09 AM
I's got a feelin' that the CEO of HUFU is sittin' in his parent's basement right now, suicidal over this horrific turn of events... his empire is in peril! Tell him to switch his company's name to Soylent Green and all the negative publicity will vanish. Sheesh.

...MARK NUCKOLS ATE AN ANUS...
Posted by booch  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  10:01 AM
Sorry, but I agree with him. I would be doing the same if you had something about my company on here. By including it here, you are implying, or people could easily infer, that it is a hoax or in someway untrustworthy. It may be an odd product, but it is, apparently, a product.
Posted by Dood  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  11:04 AM
>> By including it here, you are implying, or people could easily infer, that it is a hoax or in someway untrustworthy.<<

Cause I was ready to believe it was real before? I don't think so. I would think this is a hoax, regardless of it being on this site.
Posted by Bill B.  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  11:34 AM
As the saying goes...."There's no such thing as bad press". Human flavored ANYTHING would be noting more than a novelty item, and it wouldn't matter where the advertising came from.

And what flavorings and spices would one use to emulate the taste of human flesh? Wouldn't it really have to depend on the ethnicity of the person? If there's a market for HUFU, there'd probably be a market for Italian-human flavored tofu, or Indian, or Chinese. Get a little ethnic flavoring in your tofu while you're at it!

*Note* Patent is pending on my ethnic human flavored tofu, so Nuckols, if you read this, don't even think about stealing my idea!
Posted by Silentz  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  11:55 AM
I've thought a bit on this, and this is my view at this point: Feed 'Em Fish Heads... just because their company or site name comes up in a search, doesn't make it truly related...hell, my name could come up in a Google search under some comment that a poster mentioned on an Incredibly Hunky Hairy Guys website, but that don't make it so (it is in this case, but that don't make it the rule)...Alex may even proclaim his belief that some operation is a hoax, but unless he does it with Malice Aforethought, and with Clear Intent upon damaging the economic viability of that person, he's still kinda protected...I hope...otherwise, he's in deep doo doo
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  12:06 PM
By including it here, you are implying, or people could easily infer, that it is a hoax or in someway untrustworthy.

Only if they're people who can't read...
Posted by Boo  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  12:37 PM
Everyone, including HuFU, is giving this site too much credit.
Posted by Big Dave  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  12:44 PM
>>Alex may even proclaim his belief that some operation is a hoax, but unless he does it with Malice Aforethought, and with Clear Intent upon damaging the economic viability of that person, he's still kinda protected<<

thats true, its just like me posting that macs are faultily built crap machines on a message board
Posted by Hawkeye  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  02:52 PM
If I ever start a business, I would be honored for you to call it a hoax.
Posted by wdl  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  04:08 PM
Did you say anything about Hufu that was not true?
No, I didn't think so. Therefore, you have no reason to remove the item.

Does it really taste like people? I hope I never find out.
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas  on  Thu Jun 02, 2005  at  05:35 PM
sure it tastes like human flesh but as any true connoisseuir can attest to, it's all about the texture 😉

seriously though, I never made any assumptions as to whether or not this is a hoax simply because I heard about it at "The Museum Of Hoaxes".
Posted by Chuck  on  Fri Jun 03, 2005  at  07:38 AM
The only thing I seem to be able to currently buy from HuFu(tm) are shirts, aprons and DvDs because all the HuFu(tm)Classic Stips are on back-order...

The DvDs are all movies that feature "flesh eating" as a theme like "Cannibal: The Musical", "Alive!" and, of course, "Soylent Green."

Bon Appitite
Posted by Michael  on  Fri Jun 03, 2005  at  10:43 AM
Sorry, but it isn't the Hoax site thats going to kill this product in the crib...
Posted by Gunnar Rieger  on  Fri Jun 03, 2005  at  10:47 AM
Just to find out, I have right this minute sucked my left forearm for a few seconds. It tasted of soap... and faintly of washing powder. So, there you have it. Human flesh tastes of soap and washing powder.
Posted by Ashley Pomeroy  on  Fri Jun 03, 2005  at  03:53 PM
So, there you have it. Human flesh tastes of soap and washing powder.

Well that would depend on where or what the person you decided to taste was doing right? Let's see, I clamped my mouth on someones arm and it tasted like salt. Obviously this person had been sweating.

Nuckels, stop repackaging spam mixed with tofu and marketing it as Hufu! If you want us all to believe in you, present scientific fact that Hufo does indeed exist and that it does indeed taste like flesh *shudders* yuck. I think you would have had a better chance at marketing something like human hair dental floss or something.
Posted by Derek Punsalan  on  Sat Jun 04, 2005  at  01:56 AM
Don
Posted by Beasjt  on  Sat Jun 04, 2005  at  04:14 AM
As the vice-president of co-development of PepsiBlue, I would be horrifed to see my company's product PepsiBlue mentioned on this site about hoaxes. I would rather see http://www.pepsiblue.com properly linked among non-hoax sites and not on sites like this one that list hoaxes. That would not be good for PepsiBlue was we work hard to create customer awareness and appreciation for our superior product among non-hoax appreciating users.
Posted by Steve Portigal  on  Sat Jun 04, 2005  at  09:45 AM
"... something like human hair dental floss ..."
Hmmm, would that work?
If so, it would save me maybe 25 cents per month.
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas  on  Sat Jun 04, 2005  at  11:56 AM
"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."

If Hufu's CEO is still reading this, I think he knows the obvious by now. What's killing his business undertaking is the fact this his concept is utterly revolting & unappetizing. Of course jeopordizing his business is not Alex's intent. But if HuFu IS real, then boycotting it is MY intent..
Posted by Electra  on  Sat Jun 04, 2005  at  04:46 PM
Besides, 'inconvenient' Google search results are a fact oflife. People actually got very upset recently because a Google for 'Jew' would pop up some scathingly anti-semetic websites at the top of the list, because they used a lot of link-farming techniques.. Things have been tweaked since then to prevent it, but if he's worried about a negative result popping up, bear in mind that most search engines accept bri.. er.. have Sponsored Links that pop up first..
Posted by Bobcat  on  Sun Jun 05, 2005  at  01:45 AM
try the old 'any publicity's good publicity' thing. kinda true, i wouldnt know about it otherwise
Posted by thunder  on  Sun Jun 05, 2005  at  08:36 AM
Hell, at this point I would try to darn stuff, just to see how bad or not it is.

I'd even be happy to report back to all you guys, but I'm not sure it really exists either. Mind you, I've never tasted human flesh, in the literal sense, so I couldn't tell you if it really did taste like people or not.
Posted by Winona  on  Sun Jun 05, 2005  at  02:47 PM
I'd think that behaving like a tit is going to do the guy's company more harm that being linked to from here...

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...
Posted by paul in prague  on  Mon Jun 06, 2005  at  06:37 AM
Well, you CAN buy hufu on the site. Why not buy some hufu and see if it comes and eat it?

Unfortunately, I'm thirteen and my grandparents would not approve of me buying hufu, even if it is FAKE human flesh.
Posted by Madolyn  on  Mon Jun 06, 2005  at  01:51 PM
Perhaps this Mark Nuckols character takes himself a bit too seriously. Does anyone really believe that hufu classic strips will generate any more interest, over the long run, than does fake scat sold at joke shops?
Posted by Dennis the Menace  on  Tue Jun 07, 2005  at  11:09 PM
This reminds me so much of Soylent Green
Posted by Gabe  on  Wed Jun 08, 2005  at  03:53 PM
Are you REALLY supposed to feel sorry if the company goes under? I hope it does. Disgusting!
Posted by carp  on  Sun Jun 12, 2005  at  02:40 AM
How many hits do you think he gets a day just because people saw it here and were curious? I know I just thumbed through his website. I still think it's bullshit. I mean come on. PLENTY of shirts available, but the "HuFu" is back ordered.

Zer010
Posted by Zer010  on  Thu Jun 16, 2005  at  04:27 PM
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1544270
Posted by Splarka  on  Thu Jun 23, 2005  at  11:30 PM
I've been visiting the site periodically since before it "went live" after hearing about it on an internet radio program, and because I blogged about it. From my perspective, the site went live first with just the promotional paraphenalia (shirts, aprons, etc.) The first time I actually saw the link for buying Hufu, it said it was back-ordered. Now, I suppose that it is quite possible that all the available product was sold immediately, but it does look suspicious to me. I haven't tried (nor will I) to buy any of it to see if the purchase actually will go through, but I've got an inkling that the whole thing is an elaborate scheme to sell T-shirts and aprons......and flesh-eating DVDs. Brilliant. Disgustingly brilliant.
Posted by Bobbie  on  Thu Jun 30, 2005  at  06:22 PM
It's nice that Hufu is so concerned with going out of business, and that the president of the company himself would email this site, because these guys still haven't replied to any of my emails about the t-shirt they never sent me.

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
Posted by Rick  on  Mon Jul 04, 2005  at  04:20 PM
I actually had the opportunity to taste hufu, i guess my friend and i were lucky enough to order it before the "back order" came up. Interesting flavor, who knows if it tastes like people.
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?
Posted by 00twan  on  Sun Jul 10, 2005  at  04:44 PM
This is a wonderful hoax! With the coming of the internet age, the ability to pull the wool over the entire world is now possible. The seemingly indignant founder of hufu asking for its removal from this site only compounds the greatness of the original hoax.

I say bravo, and please pass the hufu!
Posted by Me  on  Fri Jul 15, 2005  at  12:02 PM
"tastes like chicken"

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.
Posted by Irv  on  Sat Jul 30, 2005  at  03:43 PM
This is like that disgusting ManBeef.com hoax a couple of years ago. Don't these people have anything better to do?
Posted by Jade  on  Sun Aug 28, 2005  at  04:31 AM
actually, most of you are wrong.
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!
Posted by calavera  on  Tue Sep 27, 2005  at  07:14 AM
hufu is definitely not a hoax. i live near one of the guys who organized it, and they gave me a sample. it definitely doesn't taste like chicken.
Posted by phybre  on  Thu Sep 29, 2005  at  11:36 PM
Anyone watch the daily show with jon stewart tonight????
sam bee ate some hufu
Posted by weeboo  on  Thu Oct 27, 2005  at  09:22 PM
Jon Stewart was kewl,,,,Hufu,,brings new meaning to Campbell's Soup,,,,,made with REAL Campbells!
Posted by Mild Bill  on  Thu Oct 27, 2005  at  09:33 PM
HUFU looks like poop. I wouldnt eat poop shaped food if it tasted like strawberries. On a side i wonder if they offer virgin flavor, vampires seem to like virgins and they should know, they dont need no substitutes.
Posted by Knives420  on  Thu Oct 27, 2005  at  09:41 PM
Just watched the daily show where they talked about hufu, and they showed what it looked like which was dog shit {for real} and its definitely real...

If i can find it i'll try it, though i dont think it will taste like chicken.
Posted by Drusilla  on  Fri Oct 28, 2005  at  12:22 AM
Personally, I wouldn't remove the reference... especially from a "Hoax" site because of Mark Nuckols' (CEO of HUFU, LLC) own words. I won't post the entire entry (only a quick quote - read the rest at http://www.eathufu.com/blog.asp), but if anyone who reads this particular entry on the Hufu site's blog might well wonder why he feels a reference here would hurt his product.

"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..."
Posted by RM  on  Fri Oct 28, 2005  at  03:22 AM
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