candy + science = yum + fun

chances are,

at this very moment,

you have more candy in your house

than you know what to do with.

let's put your starbursts to good use

with a quick & fun science experiment.

have you ever seen someone swallow 

something yucky while pinching their nose?

there is a very good reason for that:

our sense of smell affects our ability to taste.

let's get down to the

olfactory/gustatory nitty gritty...

here's the question:

if i hold my nose while eating a starburst,

will i still be able to tell which flavor it is?

let's find out!

here are ned's starbursts from halloween.

he had 10 pieces, with 6 different flavors:

cherry, strawberry, orange, lemon,

strawberry kiwi, and mango melon.

{to keep things scientific, i kept the flavors a secret}

i cut them into four pieces per flavor

because the whole piece is really big.

have your subjects close their eyes

{we played it safe with bandanas}

and pinch their nose.

1. put a starburst piece in their mouth

and have them chew it up,

keeping their eyes closed & nose pinched.

2. ask them to tell you what flavor it is.

3. have them un-pinch their nose

and THEN tell you what flavor it is.

4. record and compare your results 

i did this, along with marian & ned.

even the few flavors we guessed correctly

tasted very different once we could smell them.

smell & taste are most definitely linked.

learn more here and here.

----------------------------------------

a box nap

 ♥