U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to CNN with a nostalgic twinkle in her eye about the magic mushrooms she unwittingly ate during a recent trip — a trip to China, that is.
"I see you smiling," said CNN's Erin Burnett to Yellen, whose mischievous grin turned into a laugh.
"You set off a frenzy because you ordered a mushroom dish that contains apparently what are considered magic mushrooms — mushrooms that could be hallucinogenic. Now these wild mushroom dishes are selling out at that restaurant," Burnett said, referring to China's "In and Out" restaurant, not to be confused with the U.S. fast food chain.
"There was a delicious mushroom dish," Yellen told CNN's Erin Burnett. "I was not aware that these mushrooms had hallucinogenic properties. I learned that later."
But whether or not she actually felt them later seemed a little ambiguous. "I read that if the mushrooms are cooked properly, which I'm sure they were at this very good restaurant, that they have no impact. But all of us enjoyed the mushrooms, the restaurant, and none of us felt any ill effects from having eaten them." It's good that she didn't feel any "ill effects," but did she feel any hallucinogenic effects? Either way, it looks like she passed through China with flying colors.
Front page thumbnail image: Janet Yellen / CNN
