It seems not uncommon for gourmands to be bibliophiles and, for those of who combine these interests, it's not unusual to find the odd trace of someone else's snack sandwiched between the pages of an old volume.
Most of us, curled in our favourite reading chair with a steamy mug of something reassuring will have come across a previous reader's biscuit trail, crushed into the page gutter. There's something lovely about the connection with others who have loved the same book, sitting in their own chairs with their own mug, who knows how many years ago.
In terms of acceptability I realise this ranks alongside an admission that I pick my nose and eat it, but I can never resist tasting the crumbs. I know, I know: it's vile and unhygienic but I've got books here going back to the 17th century. I'm not going to miss the opportunity to taste a Jacobean hobnob.
But according to The Argus newspaper, a Worthing librarian has gone one better than mere biscuitry, discovering a rasher of bacon in a returned library book.
Unfortunately, the Argus report goes on to list other things found in library books rather than pursuing the obvious and far more exciting culinary angle. Was it smoked? Was it streaky or back? Did the reader place it raw into a heavy hardback, perhaps flattening it to wrap a tiny terrine; or was it cooked and sandwiched between the absorbent pages of a pulp work on bodily self-improvement in an attempt to soak up unhealthy fats? We need to know.
The bacon bookmark has, however, got us wondering. What's the weirdest and most inappropriate use you've encountered for a food?
