Originally uploaded by semarr

I can’t recall exactly how this idea of a virtual Bacon Collection got started, but it was definitely on Twitter, and probably sparked by @surfingtrucker:

“Anyone tried chocolate covered bacon yet?”

But the blame/credit for the collection getting to its current fat status can be laid squarely at the feet of my Lovely and Talented Research Assistant, Diane.

“Saw this on boingboing and thought of you,” she tweeted one day, linking to a bacon bikini top. The fashion statement was in response to Al Can’t Hang‘s Bacon of the Month Competition — honestly, who could make these things up? — and you can enjoy the whole cooked-in-the-sun bacon bikini story at Loona.net.

But let’s back up a bit.

First came that chocolate-covered bacon. (Yeah, okay, guys — here’s a recipe: melted chocolate chips and a pound of bacon are the star ingredients; sprinkles are optional. Good now? Right, moving on!)

Then @LaptopForHire chipped in with chocolate chip pancakes and sausage on a stick. Not bacon, but it’s pork-related and disgusting — so kudos and 10 cholesterol points for playing!

Then @BlogWellDone claimed to have a friend who once made bacon-flavoured vodka. “The horror still makes me shudder,” he said. Um, yeah.

And @HeyDriver said something about a bacon cupcake (“well, it’s the frosting”) — and just check it out! Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Frosting, by Garrett at VanillaGarlic:

After reading a bit about bacon baklava, bacon candy, and bacon ice cream, I knew a bacon cupcake was do-able, but still I was hesitant and approached this with some trepidation. It’s an outside-of-the-box cupcake, a breakfast cupcake, a cupcake for those who eat with no fear.

Which brings us back to the Lovely and Talented Research Assistant, Diane, who attempted to justify these excesses of Americian cuisine with RypTide’s Unified Theory of Bacon — scientific proof that concludes:

Therefore all food products’ deliciousness is increased by the addition of bacon, except for cheese which in turn increases the deliciousness of bacon.

“Want me to knit you a bacon scarf?” Diane asked.

Ooh, that’s tempting…

But maybe later, for Part 2 of this porcine parade, when we’ll exam the role of bacon in Arts and Crafts.