Quote of the Week: Dr. Lecter

“A census taker once tried to test me I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

Dr. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the lambs.

Possible inside joke: Dr. Lecter’s choice of sides wasn’t based on his taste predilections, he was making a medical joke. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) could have been used to treat him, and what are the three things you’re not allowed to eat while taking them? Liver, beans, and wine. As a psychiatrist, Lecter would have known this, so as well as making Clarice uncomfortable he was cracking a joke for his own amusement and hinting that he hasn’t been taking his meds.