Is the art of conversation dead? Do we get fat because we eat too quickly?
There is always a danger that dinner gets wolfed down, rather than savoured in between exchanges of interesting conversation.
Today’s invention is therefore a tabletop vending machine.
This dispenses a communal meal in sub-portions, but only after a smartphone inserted into it (running language recognition software like Siri) has recorded a certain number of recognisable words between each one.
It might even be possible to insist that each individual utter at least a few bons mots.
This would require some extra interaction between eg family members as well as limiting the speed with which their food gets engulfed.
