Now Taste This!
According to the smartest person on Earth, I have a lot of taste. Buds. I have lots of tastebuds. That Marilyn vos Savant, the one listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for highest IQ, mentioned it in her Parade Magazine column. Turns out that maybe the people who love strong cheese like Blue and Gorgonzola (you know who you are!) enjoy the flavors because they don’t have a heck of a lot of taste buds. Those of us who despise strong cheeses might have 100 times more taste buds. We’re the sensitive type. Anything that reeks of stinky old feet is not placed in our collective mouth. Yucky!After reading the words of this Marilyn genius—who hints I may be “gifted” instead of the “cheese hating, cultural neophyte” I have been previously called—well, I’m interested. (Marilyn probably even knows what IQ stands for.) I Googled and found a more academic article at Yale Scientific called “From ‘Supertaster’ to the Taste-blind.” Turns out that maybe the reason soda pop burns my tongue (stupid carbonation!) is because taste buds are also pain receptors. The report evolves into talk of pain thresholds and women who have given birth. Seems that all mothers average a 20% higher threshold for tolerating pain than anyone else on the planet. Wow. Considering that a swig of Coke (Coke-a-cola, not the other kind) leaves me reeling in pain, I know where I stand. And that’s fine with me. Frankly, I don’t care to be tested by scientists on the “most intense pain experienced.” Thinking about eating cheese is bad enough.
Am I a super taster? Who knows. But it makes good fodder for small talk, doesn’t it? So, if you’ll pardon me, I’m going to go hang out with my buds now.
(Want a fun short story? Read my Locker Room Gourmet. Cute baby image is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
Elsewhere:
- Why Are Peppers Hot? – I dunno. Why are peppers hot?
- Brain Briefings: Taste Intensity – Hilarious tongue illustration. Or disgusting, depending on your bent.
- Quantum Taste Testers – Sense of taste in babies and children
Comments
My son was in a test for the medical center for being a "supertaster". He said the tablet tasted like poop, so he qualified as a supertaster. :-0
And, Jill, to WHAT did your son have to compare his taste test with may I ask? Oh, forget it....I don't really want to know.