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Tongue and flavors - The tongue is covered in taste buds that are capable of perceiving four main flavors: sweet, salty, bitter and sour. In the middle of the tongue, receptors register temperature and texture.

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Palate - The tongue is a muscular organ that aids in taste, swallowing and forming speech sounds. It is located in the lower part of the mouth in most vertebrate animals.

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Taste - Taste occurs as the result of a complex chemical process. Molecules within the food are released in the mouth, where sensory information is then passed through the nerve cells in taste buds to be interpreted by the brain.

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Taste vs. smell - Most of what we perceive as taste is due to our ability to smell. When we chew, scent molecules are released from the food.

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Colds and flu - When we have a stuffy nose, we are unable to taste our food because our sense of smell is impaired.

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Flavors - In addition to the four main flavors (salty, bitter, sweet, sour), taste buds can also detect a fifth taste, known as umami.

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Umami - This type of flavor is present in some processed products, as well as things like ripe tomatoes. 'Umai' means 'delicious' and 'mi' means 'taste.'

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Age - Our palate varies with age. Japanese studies on mice found that younger mice preferred sweet foods, while older mice preferred saltier foods.

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Child's palate - The taste buds of children are more sensitive than those of adults. They can taste flavors more intensely, and have a heightened sense of bitterness. This is one of the reasons why some children are picky eaters.

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Pepper - Pepper doesn't just stimulate heat receptors on the tongue, but also affects the trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for facial sensations and functions. This is why eating something spicy causes us to sweat or blush.

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Sleeping and tasting - Scents and tastes are only able to wake a person if they are especially potent. If you put something bitter in a sleeping person's mouth, they will awaken immediately and spit out the food.

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Loss of taste - It is possible to lose your sense of taste if you suffer from a traumatic brain injury.

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Bacteria - There are more than 600 types of bacteria in your mouth, and most of them are located on your tongue.

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Animals - The forked tongue of some animals, such as snakes and certain reptiles, allows them to perceive scent and the direction in which it is coming from. They can also sense the presence of other animals of their own species.

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Giraffe - The only animal capable of reaching its ears with its tongue is the giraffe. Their tongues can grow up to 45 centimeters long.

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Chameleon - The chameleon is another animal with an exceptionally long tongue, up to 70 centimeters. They use it to catch insects.

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Anteater - This animal's tongue can measure up to 60 centimeters long.

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Blue whale - The whale has the heaviest tongue in the animal kingdom, weighing up to 91 kilograms.

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Tongue - The tongue is one of the strongest and most flexible organs in the human body.

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Different tongues - Tongues have unique prints, exactly like your fingerprints.

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Bacteria - About 50% of the bacteria in your mouth lives on the tip of the tongue.

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Size - The human tongue measures about 10 centimeters long, although it can vary between individuals.

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Taste buds - The tongue is covered in approximately three thousand taste buds.

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Regeneration - The tongue is the body part that heals the fastest.

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Cleaning - Using a tongue scraper to clean your tongue is incredibly important, as it can help prevent heart attacks, pneumonia, premature birth, diabetes, osteoporosis and male infertility.

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Dry mouth - If your mouth is completely dry, it is impossible to taste. Food is dissolved in saliva, allowing us to absorb and perceive their taste. If it never dissolves, we can't taste it.

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Five senses - Taste is the least accurate of the five senses.

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Tobacco - Cigarettes can affect taste buds to the point where smokers perceive the taste of foods differently than non-smokers.

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Medication - Other things that can affect the way you perceive taste include medication, lack of vitamins, head injuries, brain tumors, and exposure to radiation and other chemicals.

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Saliva - Saliva helps soften and dissolve food, allowing us to chew, swallow and digest more easily. It also eliminates bacteria that can be harmful to our health.

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