We all know that our senses don’t work in isolation, that what we see can affect what we taste (which may explain why green ketchup didn’t take off, and why Coke’s plan to help polar bears with a special edition of its regular Coke in white cans freaked out regular Coke drinkers, who insisted that it tasted like Diet Coke even though the formula was exactly the same). Retail stores have soundtracks designed specifically to slow you down so you shop longer.

But it wasn’t until reading this article on cross-sensory perception in The Boston Globe last week that I realized just how much our senses cross over to affect each other. (Though it’s not the same as synesthesia, which has always fascinated me, it has to be related.) A few examples from the article:

Research has found that “people rate potato chips as crisper and better-tasting when a louder crunch is played back over headphones as they eat. A study published this year showed that people thought a strawberry mousse tasted sweeter, more intense, and better when they ate it off a white plate rather than a black plate.”

And while we know that decor and environmental factors can enhance (or detract from) a dining experience, that strong-smelling floral arrangement centerpiece may actually be making the food taste bad. As the article points out: “…we are now beginning to understand that these elements don’t just create atmosphere and associations — they can actually make food taste different. For example, several studies have found that adding red coloring can make drinks taste sweeter, allowing a company to reduce sugar content while turning color up a notch.”

Also according to the article, a company called Condiment Junkie is finding ways to use sound to enhance experiences. For example, “The company has worked with Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, England, run by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, to develop soundtracks to bring out specific flavors in the food, based on their finding that hearing certain sounds (high tones, tinkling pianos) make people perceive a bittersweet toffee as more sweet, while hearing low-pitched tones and trombones make the toffee taste more bitter.”

Why meeting planners should care about all this? Well, for one thing, it’s already spawned a conference of its own to share findings around cross-sensory perception. And it has obvious F&B implications, of course. Here’s another: “And the new work may ultimately affect how the rest of us learn, as well. Shams’s group at UCLA has found that people learn a visual task better when it’s accompanied by sound, for instance — even when they are later tested using only vision.”

But more importantly, just think of all the things we can do to enhance our learning environment if we can quantify other ways in which one sensory input also affects other senses in ways that enhance learning. It sounds like we’re just beginning to untangle how all these sensory interactions mesh to enhance, detract from, amplify, or otherwise affect how we experience the world, and how we learn.

If anyone knows of good research in this area, please let me know. I’m deeply fascinated by the whole topic.

File this one under “What will they think of next”: Aerial bartenders. I kid you not—such a thing really exists.

As the Web site says, “Performing three 30 minute sets, our beautiful glamazons perform breathtaking aerial acts as they serve your guests champagne or other exotic drinks upon request.” I’d suggest also hiring a few masseuses to help uncrick people’s necks after they watch a set or two (and a few more earthbound barkeeps to provide a more prosaic form of the service).

Thanks to Andy McNeill, principle and CEO, American Meetings, Inc., for pointing to this gem of an idea on the Meeting Solutions blog!

We know that a high-carb lunch followed by a big piece of cake is going to put people out like you took a sledgehammer to them, while a lean and protein-rich meal will likely leave them alert for afternoon sessions (unless and until you stun them into unconsciousness with dark rooms and PowerPoint nap-inducers). But did you know why? Here’s a look at the reasons why our bodies react to sugar and protein the way they do, and why you should at least top that cake with some slivered almonds

If you’re looking for spa food like cucumber gazpacho with shrimp and melon on your next flight to Cincinnati, you’re almost definitely going to be out of luck (unless you’re on your billionaire friend’s private jet). But the enterprising souls at DietDetective.com have done some sleuthing to find out which airlines sky snacks are the least (and most) hazardous to your waistline. Now the results are in.

Of the eight airlines whose snacks DietDetective.com analyzed for healthiness, cost, calories, and exercise equivalents, Virgin America and Air Canada provided the healthiest sky snacks; Spirit’s snacks were the least healthy.

However, the company noted in a press release, your best bet is to bring your own food (low-calorie cereals, apples and oranges, salad, energy bars, beef jerky, fruit rollups, nuts, nonfat yogurt, and sandwiches). They also suggest peel-and-eat tuna and salmon cups, which sounds pretty awful to me.

I know I should care about keeping to nice healthy snacks but really, to be truthful, I don’t. I always figure I’m working off so many calories just holding the plane in the sky with my mind that anything I eat is instantly burned off. Calories eaten on the plane, stay on the plane—that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

It’s hard to imagine that the word hasn’t yet gotten out to some meetings professionals that it’s better environmentally, budget-wise, and even logistically, to lose the bottled water habit for meetings. And yet, we still see them on ice at breaks, so I guess the trend toward pitchers and other forms of water dispensers hasn’t quite hit the mainstream (so to speak).

Andy McNeill, principle and CEO, American Meetings, Inc., tackles just this topic in this blog post that covers the topic nicely, including lots of related links to more resources and bottle alternatives AMI has found.

Does it surprise anyone that, despite airlines trying to offer healthy snacks, most people would rather go for a quarter-pound microwaved cheeseburger? I’m not big on red meat, but I do tend to lean toward salty, fatty, carb-laden snacks when traveling. Maybe it’s a reward for putting up with all the hassles? Or a lot of us subscribe to the notion that calories eaten on the airplane stay on the airplane?

I’m guessing you see something similar when it comes to F&B at a conference—people may say they want a light salad for lunch, but when given a choice, they opt for the mac and cheese…

According to Special Events, caterers are saying the hot trends in food and beverage these days can be summed up as, “make it small and take it outside.” So, I guess the now-ubiquitous sliders will be with us for a while longer, as will picnics. One thing I’d like to see on more menus?

Trick pancakes! And not just pancakes decorated to look like something or other, but pancakes that are so far out there that you wouldn’t even know they’re pancakes. Like this one.

Or, more simply, like this one:

Just think of the logos or theme ideas you could put on people’s plates just be pre-pouring a little batter. Plus, I just like pancakes.

While this study mainly concentrated on what happens when people eat lunch while playing computer games (hint: They eat more), it also may hold true for eating during other types of distractions. Like, say, the programming you have going on at a luncheon — people did eat more when listening to a recorded story while eating, as they did when eating with friends. So if you want to save a bit on your F&B, it might help to let people eat undistracted and hold off on the presentations until after they’re done chowing down. Plus it makes for a better experience for speaker and audience alike.

I love cheese. I mean really, really love cheese. It’s the main reason (along with ice cream) why I failed as a hard-core vegan many years ago. And now I know why: According to VegSource.com, cheese is up there with chocolate (and, go figure, sausage) in messing with your brain chemistry:

“In 1981, Eli Hazum and his colleagues at Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, N.C., reported a remarkable discovery. Analyzing samples of cow’s milk, they found traces of a chemical that looked very much like morphine. They put it to one chemical test after another. And, finally, they arrived at the conclusion that, in fact, it is morphine. There is not a lot of it and not every sample had detectable levels. But there is indeed some morphine in both cow’s milk and human milk.”

And from Care2: “Researchers also discovered the protein casein, which breaks into casomorphins when it is digested and also produces opiate effects. In cheese, casein is concentrated, and so is the level of casomorphins, so the pleasurable effect is greater. Neal Barnard, MD said, “Since cheese is processed to express out all the liquid, it’s an incredibly concentrated source of casomorphins—you might call it dairy crack.”

Just some food for thought as you work on the menu for your next event.

Check out this meathead I just found on BoingBoing (from Make magazine’s Halloween issue; recipe is here). Yeah, now there’s a centerpiece sure to get everyone’s attention!