HOW DO YOU DETECT TASTE?
The surface of the tongue has about 10,000 microscopic taste buds sunk in it. As you chew, tiny particles of food dissolve in saliva and trickle down to the taste buds. The taste receptors react and send messages about the taste to the brain. There are four basic tastes-sweet, salty, bitter, and sour-and every taste is made up of one or a combination of these. The taste buds in different parts of the tongue react mainly to one of these basic tastes.
WHY DOES A BLOCKED NOSE STOP YOU TASTING?
When you eat, you both taste and smell the food. If your nose is blocked with mucus from a cold, you can’t smell properly and so food seems to have less taste too.
DOES TASTE MATTER?
Unpleasant tastes can warn you when food has gone bad or is poisonous. Your body needs healthy food, so enjoying the taste of it encourages you to eat.
WHICH PARTS OF THE BODY ARE MOST SENSITIVE TO HEAT?
Your elbows and feet are more sensitive to heat than many other parts of the body. You may have noticed that bath water feels much hotter to your feet than it does to your hand. Your lips and mouth are very sensitive to heat too.
WHICH PART OF THE BODY IS LEAST SENSITIVE TO TOUCH?
The back is one of the least sensitive areas of the body.
HOW DO BLIND PEOPLE USE TOUCH TO SEE?
Blind people can tell what something is like by feeling it. Outside, they may use a long cane to feel the way in front of them. Blind people read by touch: they run their fingertips over Braille-patterns of raised dots that represent different letters.
WHY DO YOU LIKE SOME TASTES BETTER THAN OTHERS?
Most people prefer things that taste sweet or slightly salty, but your sense of taste can easily become used to too much sugar and salt. How you like food to taste is very much decided by your eating habits.
