let them eat...snails?!

the quote, "let them eat cake" has long been attributed as a response by marie antoinette when she was told that the french people had no bread to eat. in all fairness, the quote may be grossly misrepresented. during the great famine of the early 1300s the french wheat crops suffered greatly at the hands of mother nature and flour became almost non-existent; thus bread, the staff of life, could not be made or bought. at the time french law required bakers to sell loaves of bread at fixed prices and fancy loaves, or brioche, to be sold at the same prices to prevent the bakers from selling just the more profitable expensive products. so the the king's consort's suggestion "qu'ils mangent de la brioche" or "let them eat cake/pastry", as the quote is reported, would not have seemed as cynical as history would make us believe, since it would have been sensible, at least to marie antoinette, that in the face of a flour shortage the poor might have been able to afford to eat what would otherwise have been unaffordable. unfortunately, the sensitivity of the situation and its trivializing by the queen was not lost on the angry populace. it cannot all be blamed on the monarchy, however. it is also recorded that the french king tried to persuade his starving people to make do with the crops of potatoes available at the time. the mobs believed that potatoes were poisonous, however, and preferred to starve and guillotine the royals for treason. i speculated that perhaps it was at this time that the french may have turned to eating snails, or escargot; but it seems that the little creatures are more particular to their environment than one might imagine and the inclement weather that was destroying the wheat crops would not have been to their liking either. who knew?! anyway, history reports many famines in europe and i suppose learning to eat whatever was available is a smart survival instinct; but really people! snails?! and why would THAT particular practice survive after the pantries became full? i admit that pretty much anything covered in garlic and butter would taste great, but leave it to the french to make a flavor of the month out of a common variety garden pest that leaves a trail of slime! or is it maybe just a french attempt at humor? they are a bit twisted those french. regardless, i HAVE eaten snails, i have even cooked snails, and let me just say that, yes, it is probably an acquired taste (but WHY? i mean REALLY!), and no, i don't particularly care for them. i do believe in trying most things even once though so chalk one up for me!