I have a weakness of over-salting my popcorn when I go to the theater. Inevitably the salt (that butter-flavored super-fine kind) will cause my tongue to burn badly, like I'd just stuck it in a cup of boiling water. It will be extremely painful/sensitive for about 48 hours, and then the top layer of my tongue will literally peel off. This ONLY happens with popcorn salt, not table salt (perhaps because of the granules' fineness). Anyone know why popcorn salt would do that? My 2 theories are (1) a chemical burn of some sort thanks to additives in the salt; (2) the salt dissolves into my tongue tissue and then absorbs more water than it can hold, essentially causing my taste buds to rupture.
Looking for serious answers only, please.
2007-07-25
06:28:12
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4 answers
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asked by
Ryan H
6
in
Chemistry