Gone are the days when Ben & Jerry comforted you on your saddest moments.  Doritos and Riffles sometimes also fail to do the trick when you really are down in the dumps.  Is it them or are you simply looking for something else that will make you and your taste buds feel better?

Some researchers claim people are more tempted to try new stuff during tough times.  And they are talking about weird stuff, too.  You know—odd food combinations like Oreo and peanut butter, eel sushi and semolina bread, plums and cheesecake… and whatever else that is weird you can imagine.

In the study appearing in the Journal of Consumer Research, experts say a state of upheaval changes people’s choices. In this case, people passed up good old Lay’s potato chips, and switched to fancy “camembert-and-plum crisps.”

This could be because people are already in a state of flux, maybe a little disoriented, so the stage is set to try something unfamiliar and new.

Well, when you are sad, sometimes you really are not yourself.  It makes sense that you eat stuff that are so “not you,” too.  Hopefully, you draw the line there and not resort to anything that’s not edible—even if that Play-Doh claims that it’s non-toxic.