Masticator, developed by Takehito Etani, is a headgear that gives audio visual feedback of chewing during meals. At each chew the device beeps and counts the chewing on the LED digital display. The number loops between 0 to 9 and does not add up.

One who wears it is also called “The Masticator”. The Masticator occasionally visits restaurants such as McDonald’s to chew slowly on hamburgers and fries in ritualistic manner.

Sensing of the mastication was achieved by a technology called MAST-I (Mastication Activated Switch Technology version one). The system takes advantage of the phenomenon that the masseter muscle at the sides of the jaw stiffens and pops out as the upper and lower teeths bit at each mastication. A push-button switch is placed on the masseter muscle and the muscle pushes the button when the teeth bite.

The device was inspired by the “great Masticator” himself: Horace Fletcher, a British health-food faddist of the Victorian era who argued that food should be chewed thirty two times — or, about 100 times per minute — before being swallowed. He sought for social reform by using the careful super mastication technique to solve urban social problems like poverty, sickness, and crime.

Enjoy the videos: the device and at the fast food restaurant.

Somewhat similar: the Meat Helmet.