Magic Cake - Its Composition and Effects
When playing Earthbound, we see the then-trio of Ness, Paula and Jeff consume a foodstuff called Magic Cake - this cake has the effect of sending them into a delirious state in which colours and sound are distorted, and Ness has a "Very clear, and very strange dream", which shows him Poo for the first time. But just what is Magic Cake? Well, let's look at the evidence.
The effects on perception of colour and sound are immediately recognisable as those of LSD, a hallucinogenic drug that might be commonly used and available in the party resort of Summers.
It also fits with the slew of Beatles references in Earthbound, since the song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is commonly misinterpreted as being about LSD. The song was actually written as a response to Julian Lennon's drawing of his friend Lucy, but it's possible Shigesato Itoi or another member of the development team was unaware of this and simply stuck to the myth.
However, after researching the effects of LSD more thoroughly, it seems that it would not cause vivid or clear dreams, the sort which Ness experienced. Moreover, LSD, unlike THC, cannot be used in baking since it would simply evaporate to nothing.
Nicotine is a drug that, in high doses (such as those experienced by applying several nicotine patches at once) can cause vivid dreams. It too would be difficult to bake with, but could easily be mixed in with cake icing or filling. The problem then raised is that nicotine, while toxic in large doses, is a stimulant, and thus would be extremely unlikely to cause unconsciousness (or unconscious Ness, get it?).
To counteract this, the cake could be laced with some sort of powerful sedative, such as Rohypnol, again either in the icing or filling of the cake. This has a (somewhat unfounded but still reasonable) reputation as a date-rape drug, since it can also produce hypnotic and amnestic effects. It is ten times stronger than an equivalent dose of Valium.
As for how Poo was summoned when Ness ate the cake, this could be a nicotine-induced effect. A strong stimulant that causes high brain activity and vivid dreaming could affect the area of Ness' brain where PSI is controlled, causing uncontrollable spikes of PSI that could reach out to any other users at random. An unconscious psychic link could explain why Ness was able to see Poo's actions so clearly.
The properties of the cake are likely down to a combination of drugs rather than a single one, and in my opinion those are likely to be high doses of nicotine combined with a powerful sedative. The cake may not be entirely LSD-free, since we do not have an explanation for why the colours and sounds around Ness are so distorted, but that drug is unlikely to be the main agent in Magic Cake as its other effects go largely unseen. Research showed up nothing for the effects of Rohypnol combined with nicotine, but with cocaine (another powerful stimulant) Rohypnol has the effect of softening the 'crash' experienced after the drug wears off. This is consistent with the fact that Ness suffers no serious side-effects after the Magic Cake wears off.
When playing Earthbound, we see the then-trio of Ness, Paula and Jeff consume a foodstuff called Magic Cake - this cake has the effect of sending them into a delirious state in which colours and sound are distorted, and Ness has a "Very clear, and very strange dream", which shows him Poo for the first time. But just what is Magic Cake? Well, let's look at the evidence.
The effects on perception of colour and sound are immediately recognisable as those of LSD, a hallucinogenic drug that might be commonly used and available in the party resort of Summers.
It also fits with the slew of Beatles references in Earthbound, since the song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is commonly misinterpreted as being about LSD. The song was actually written as a response to Julian Lennon's drawing of his friend Lucy, but it's possible Shigesato Itoi or another member of the development team was unaware of this and simply stuck to the myth.
However, after researching the effects of LSD more thoroughly, it seems that it would not cause vivid or clear dreams, the sort which Ness experienced. Moreover, LSD, unlike THC, cannot be used in baking since it would simply evaporate to nothing.
Nicotine is a drug that, in high doses (such as those experienced by applying several nicotine patches at once) can cause vivid dreams. It too would be difficult to bake with, but could easily be mixed in with cake icing or filling. The problem then raised is that nicotine, while toxic in large doses, is a stimulant, and thus would be extremely unlikely to cause unconsciousness (or unconscious Ness, get it?).
To counteract this, the cake could be laced with some sort of powerful sedative, such as Rohypnol, again either in the icing or filling of the cake. This has a (somewhat unfounded but still reasonable) reputation as a date-rape drug, since it can also produce hypnotic and amnestic effects. It is ten times stronger than an equivalent dose of Valium.
As for how Poo was summoned when Ness ate the cake, this could be a nicotine-induced effect. A strong stimulant that causes high brain activity and vivid dreaming could affect the area of Ness' brain where PSI is controlled, causing uncontrollable spikes of PSI that could reach out to any other users at random. An unconscious psychic link could explain why Ness was able to see Poo's actions so clearly.
The properties of the cake are likely down to a combination of drugs rather than a single one, and in my opinion those are likely to be high doses of nicotine combined with a powerful sedative. The cake may not be entirely LSD-free, since we do not have an explanation for why the colours and sounds around Ness are so distorted, but that drug is unlikely to be the main agent in Magic Cake as its other effects go largely unseen. Research showed up nothing for the effects of Rohypnol combined with nicotine, but with cocaine (another powerful stimulant) Rohypnol has the effect of softening the 'crash' experienced after the drug wears off. This is consistent with the fact that Ness suffers no serious side-effects after the Magic Cake wears off.
