A Bad Map

By Anonymous -

         
           One image which unfortunately stuck with me from my time in elementary school was the “Tongue Map” from health class. For the uninitiated, the tongue map is a graphical representation of where the different “flavor receptors” are located on your tongue. This image sections of bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and sourness, and clearly illustrates the idea that humans use one part of their tongue to experience a specific flavor. However, the science behind this illustration that has so captured the publics imagination is false. Apparently the confusion began as a result of a study performed in 1901 by David P Hänig. His study revealed that certain parts of the tongue were more sensitive than others to specific flavors such as salt or umami. While this element was scientifically sound, the diagram he put out to accompany his findings seemed to highlight different regions of the tongue as responsible for handling specific flavors. Additionally, the regions demonstrated in the graphic were not reinforced by empirical measurements. From this discrepancy, many incorrect assumptions have been made about the way human beings understand our sense of taste. I wanted to examine this phenomena more closely and research about what the origins of this popular myth were. Additionally, having read Savoring Disgust and now considering all the gross tastes humans relish, the tongue map makes even less sense. I have not seen in my research a single variation that mentions unpleasant tastes, such as those associated with mold or decay.

Photo Credit: 
https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/54/f1/54f11932-0955-4f6f-86df-63b13d8f65fc/image-20150703-11301-1v6p8ii.png, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/neat-and-tidy-map-tastes-tongue-you-learned-school-all-wrong-180963407/

Article:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/neat-and-tidy-map-tastes-tongue-you-learned-school-all-wrong-180963407/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirpin...
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was...
Read more