Step Into The Pleasure Dome

No longer will we eat our ice cream from trucks, oblivious to the neurochemical reactions occurring in our bodies. From here on out, we shall consume all desserts inside the Pleasure Pod, for it is only here you shall truly understand the significance of sugar!

All joking aside, the Magnum Infinity Pleasure Pod is truly a sight to behold. Though it looks like something out of an 80's fantasy flick, the Pod is actually the work of contemporary food architects Bompas and Parr. Created for the ice-cream brand Magnum and currently on display in London, this weird structure combines food, neuroscience and futuristic aesthetics in a fascinating and unique way.

Participants are given a Magnum bar and told to enter the dome, where they will watch a projection of their biological reaction. Through tracking pulse, heartbeat, skin tension and facial expressions, the high-tech Pod creates a visual representation of what's happening in your body as you eat.

Though the technology is fairly complicated, the idea behind it is pretty simple. "I was interested in how environments can be choreographed to enhance pleasure," explains Bompas in an interview with DX-London. According to this theory, the food you eat may taste better or worse depending on where you eat it. Airplane food might be more palatable if consumed in the Sistine Chapel, while foie gras could be downright disgusting presented in a hospital cafeteria. In a loose sense, the Pleasure Pod serves as a mirror for your body and mood.

And fortunately, the Pleasure Pod is on the move. So far, it has visited Italy and the UK—here's hoping it hops the pond.

A Tasteful Experience from DX-London