Tongues are fantastic, or better say TONGUEstic! It is an extremely flexible muscle that makes it possible for us to eat, breathe and talk. And it never gets tired!
The tongue has unique biomechanics—unlike other muscles, it doesn’t surround any supporting bones, and it needs to be able to make three-dimensional changes in shape to handle all the speaking, eating, and swallowing we require of it.
Flavor zones of the tongue are a myth!
That tongue map with different zones for different flavors that we all grew up learning? It’s wrong. All taste buds are capable of detecting the five types of taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory), though different receptors are more responsive to different flavors. Your tongue has 2,000 – 4,000 taste buds. Each contains sensory cells that are replaced every week.
These taste buds, or taste receptors are clustered along the sides and at the back; the middle of the tongue is the least receptive area. The tongue is covered with tiny nodes called papillae, which house your taste buds, as well as the serous glands, required for the act of tasting.
The average length of the human tongue from the back to the tip is 10 cm.
That’s measured from the back of the throat to the tip. But the new Guinness World Record for the longest tongue clocks in at 10.1 centimeters — measured from the tip of the tongue when it’s stuck out to the lips, the BBC reported. The owner of this beast of a tongue is Nick Stoeberl, above, who surpassed the previous record of 9.8 centimeters.
Typically a human tongue is around 8.5 centimeters for men and 7.9 cm for women
Source: BBC
Sticking your tongue out can be rude, or considered a greeting. It depends where you are!
Sticking out your tongue is considered unacceptable behavior in many cultures, but it is a sign of respect in others, according to Bright Hub Education. In Tibet, sticking out the tongue is a greeting. When two people meet, they stick out their tongues at each other. Among the Maori people of New Zealand, sticking out the tongue is part of a war chant and is meant to intimidate the enemy. If a Maori woman sticks out her tongue, it is a sign of defiance.
Its color can give your doctor hints about your health.
A healthy tongue is a nice pink shade — except for right after it has devoured blue ice cream or purple candy. Some allergies and infections might cause some redness and swelling of the tongue called glossitis. A bright-red color accompanied by fever and sore throat may be more serious.
White patches on the tongue and inside the mouth can be a sign of thrush, a fungal infection usually treated with antifungal medications in healthy adults and kids without major consequences, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A smoother than normal tongue might be a sign you’re skimping on nutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamin B12, WebMD reported. Alternately, if skin cells build up on the normal bumps of the tongue, the tongue can have a “hairy” or darker than normal appearance. This isn’t usually a medical issue, but rather a stain from food, bacteria or even tobacco use.
If the tongue is red and blistered, it’s probably too dry, a sign that you might not be making enough saliva, which could in turn be a side effect of some blood pressure or allergy meds, ABC News reported.
The tongue is the new “sweet tooth”!
If you’ve ever wondered why you used to be able to enjoy a mouthful of sugar and now find candy too sweet, it’s probably because the types of taste buds you have change as you age. Kids’ taste buds are more sensitive to sweet tastes than adults’ tongues are. “It explains why children really enjoy sweets and candies, as compared to adults who may enjoy more complex flavors and spices,” Voigt says. There are likely evolutionary reasons for this sweet, er, tongue.
Sources: Mental Floss, Huff Post, Live Science
