I like to think that everyone's got their own unique talent, but the fact of the matter is that some people are simply more talented than others. No matter how hard I try to learn and better myself, the fact remains that I will never be as talented as Donald Glover - the musician, actor, writer and comic who is objectively better than me.
I'm not ashamed to admit that.
Some people are good at economics, others can grip an entire room with just the sound of their voice; Hannah Edwards, from Hemel Hempstead in the United Kingdom, is a master illusionist. But rather than performing in Vegas stages or performing bizarre stunts a la David Blaine, Edwards blows our minds using cakes.
Look at that. Insane, right? Had you not watched the cake being put together, you'd think that Edwards was cutting into a real dog, cutting into its face and eating it on camera. But is there such a thing as too realistic?
"No," you'd probably say. "That's very clearly a cake. How could anybody be offended by this?" you'd ask, eyebrow raised - but yep, I regret to inform you that illusionist baker Hannah Edwards is catching fire online for making the cakes too much like animals. The horror.
The cakes you see before you are very well made, but Hannah Edwards has been getting plenty of hate online, with comments like this on some of her videos: "THIS IS DISGUSTING!!!! What's wrong with people - how can you cut and eat a cake that looks like a real animal, eyes, face, heart, ribs?!? Barbaric. STUPID."
"That's just sick! Making a realistic dog or any living creature and cut it with knife eating it [sic]! I find it gross and stupid!!" added another.
Unsurprisingly, Hannah Edwards has been surprised at the vitriol she's getting for her cakes, lamenting: "I find it surprising that so many people have such a negative reaction to a cake being cut up."
"I've seen the odd one or two comments before over the last five years that have been awkward but this is something else. The level of aggression in these comments is madness. It's just an illusion, that's all, it's not a real animal, it's not even meat; it's eggs, butter, sugar and flour that's all. It's no different to any other cake, it's just a step up in realism. That's a hard won skill that's taken me years to perfect."
Even more worrying - Edwards says that some people's rage has caused people to share her e-mail address in order to attack her as well. "In a public space I get it, everyone has their voice. My email feels a bit more personal and closer to home and as as a mum of two young children I did find it a little unnerving and threatening," she said.
Well, there you have it, folks. "I guess the bit I find most ironic is that most of these people outraged do eat real meat on a daily basis, and yet they cannot stomach the idea of a cake version of an animal being cut up," added Edwards, and I'm inclined to agree with her on this point. Personally, I really don't understand the problem here.
