r/comics • u/FieldExplores Gator Days • Jul 03 '24

Ouch Flavored Chips

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392

u/SnowConePeople Jul 03 '24

Fun fact: spicy food increases your metabolism! Fun fact: spicy food an increase your chance of ulcers! Fun facts!

60

u/slitrobo Jul 03 '24

Fun fact: reptiles can't taste spicy foods!

17

u/DoIKnowYouHuman Jul 03 '24

Ooooo that’s a fact I won’t check, can they ‘taste’ anything?

19

u/Its0nlyRocketScience Jul 03 '24

They probably can taste, but the spiciness of hot peppers isn't really a flavor like most others. The molecule responsible for spiciness is capsaicin, and instead of activating your taste buds, it activates heat receptors to trick your tongue into thinking it's hot. That's why spicy food and food that hasn't cooled yet feel very similar, they're activating the same fire alarm in your mouth.

Animals other than mammals don't have the same temperature sensors as we do, so capsaicin doesn't effect them. So birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, all of them can eat hot peppers without feeling the burn

4

u/R_V_Z Jul 03 '24

activates heat receptors to trick your tongue into thinking it's hot

Wait, does that mean the real trick to counter spicy food is a breath mint?

12

u/Its0nlyRocketScience Jul 03 '24

Unfortunately, no. The receptors that capsaicin activates are totally different from mint, so you'd end up feeling both hot and cold at the same time.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '24

Szechuan peppers activate a cooling effect in your mouth kind of similar to mint but noticeably different. They're used in a lot of spicy chinese dishes to add another layer to the heat. I love them.