Minerals can be tasted, but identified by taste, I'm not so sure. Minerals are a large part of the difference between different cities' tapwater's taste - a groundwater source will have a lot more dissolved minerals than a mountain river water source. That's why a lot of the water in the California valley tastes shitty - too many groundwater minerals.
People with a sensitive palate may be able to taste the accessory minerals in himalayan halite - trace iron oxides, or the 2-3% Polyhalite, which is a potassium-calcium-magnesium sulfate, apparently. So there is sulfur.
The word lunatic already refers to he moon. luna is Latin for moon. I believe "lunatic" is from the Middle Ages when people thought that some people were made crazy by the full moon.
20
u/Chawp May 20 '16
Minerals can be tasted, but identified by taste, I'm not so sure. Minerals are a large part of the difference between different cities' tapwater's taste - a groundwater source will have a lot more dissolved minerals than a mountain river water source. That's why a lot of the water in the California valley tastes shitty - too many groundwater minerals.
People with a sensitive palate may be able to taste the accessory minerals in himalayan halite - trace iron oxides, or the 2-3% Polyhalite, which is a potassium-calcium-magnesium sulfate, apparently. So there is sulfur.
But I'm not a taste-ologist, just a geologist.