BrainStuff Classics: Why Can't I Taste My Tongue?

Your tongue is an amazing sensory instrument -- so why can't it taste itself? Many philosophers have pondered the same thing. Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain
Stuff Lauren Vogel bomb here with a classic episode from
the podcast archives. Today's question has been taken both scientifically
and philosophically. Why can't we taste our own tongues? Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. It may seem like

(00:23):
a ridiculous question at first, but it's actually a mind bender.
Why can't you taste your tongue? A thirteenth century Indian
mystic Danna sch war even used it in contemplation on
the very nature of being. Along with its fellow sense
organs of eyes, ears, nose, and skin, the tongue serves
as one of the primary ways we experience the world

(00:44):
and form a working model of it. The same riddle
is frequently applied to the eye. Though we can certainly
see our own eyes and reflections, we can feel our
own skin, though, of course, the tip of your left
index finger can't touch itself and the ear cannot hear itself,
But either does it make a sound. The tongue, however,
looks in our mouth like a layered beast, flip flopping

(01:05):
its way through our daily conversations, tasting our food and
occasionally dislodging a little bit of it from our teeth.
Perhaps we're more inclined to ponder the mystery of the
tongue due to its hidden nature or the many lingering
myths regarding its functionality. Tongue rolling, for instance, is not
the simple genetic trait that we often chalk it up
to be. Nor is the tongue our strongest muscle, and

(01:25):
while we're at it, it's a collection of muscles. Neither
is the tongue laid out like a simple map with
different zones for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. One of
the biggest misconceptions about the tongue, however, is that it
rules alone in its governance of flavor sensations. The receptor
cells in our taste buds certainly carry out the chemical
sensation of taste, but they're located on the bumpy external

(01:46):
surface of our tongue. They're not able to turn those
powers inward on themselves. They collect tactile and thermal details
about any morsel that enters their domain. But the brain
also depends upon your sense of smell to interpret flavor,
So the tongue is not alone in its taste mission.
Your tongue can taste food or the remnants of food
in your mouth. Accidentally bite your tongue and you can

(02:07):
taste the blood trickling out of its own wound. Fun fact,
all that saliva and those blood vessels in your mouth
seem to allow for quick healing. You can also taste
your own saliva. And who hasn't had a bad taste
in their mouth, whether from some aggressive garlic or an
underlying medical condition. And yes, lovebirds, you can pick up
on all these sensations during an open mouth kiss, but
you'll still find yourself at pains to taste an actual

(02:30):
living tongue. Psychologists also talk about the conception of habituation,
or the idea that if a stimulus is presented often
enough or for long enough, we learn to ignore it.
Like that scent you sprits on before you leave the
house that everyone but you can still smell later on
in the day. The inability to taste our tongues could
be an example of that phenomenon. In any case, we

(02:51):
may not be able to taste our tongues for several reasons,
but don't let that stand in the way of a
little mystic naval gazing. Today's episode is based on the
article why Can't You Taste your Tongue on how stuffworks
dot com written by Robert Lamb. Brain Stuff is production
of I heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works

(03:12):
dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more
podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.