Finally the pineapple prickle is explained
Whether you’re snacking on pineapple to get in your five-a-day, because you love the taste or for, you know, other reasons, we all have one common thing going on.
Our mouths are absolutely tingling away from it. When we eat the tropical fruit, we often get this odd tingle sensation on our tongues and inside our mouths.
And after always wondering why (but never being bothered enough to actually Google it), people have been left horrified after finding out why this bizarre feeling occurs.
SF Microscopy shared a TikTok video finally giving an explanation for this weird pineapple prickle.
To show the reasoning to its followers, the sciencey page picked apart tiny pieces of the food to analyse them under a microscope.
There’s a reason pineapple makes your mouth tingle (Getty Stock Images/ Olha Dobosh / 500px)
So, why does your tongue tingle when eating pineapple?
The voiceover continues to explain the seemingly aggressive fruits way of working: “It’s cause we are getting stabbed by 1000s of tiny needles called raphides.
“These crystals of calcium oxalate poke holes in your cell membranes causing irritation!”
The content creator then showed the ‘microcosmos’ within the pineapple chunks, which basically resembled ‘little needles’ that stab your mouth and give you that weird, irritated feeling on your tongue after you’ve eaten it.
The science of pineapple ‘needles’
These needles are called ‘raphides’ and contain insoluble crystals, which are made of calcium oxalate, McGill University explains.
A theory about raphides and their herbivore defense mechanisms is that if the plant is damaged, sap or saliva will trigger the expulsion of these needles, which can then prick the lining of the ‘predators’ (AKA us humans) oral cavity and cause irritation.
The TikTok video offered an answer to the ‘weird feeling on the tongue.’ (TikTok/@sf_microscopy)
So all this time, pineapples have been fighting back when we’re eating them, unbeknown to most of us.
The tell-all clip went viral after clocking up over a staggering 35.9 million views, and it’s clear pineapple-chompers all over couldn’t wait to share their reactions to the bizarre phenomenon.
One TikTok user, so freaked out by the science, vowed they would ‘never eat pineapple again’.
Others, however, weren’t going to be put off the needle-filled tropical fruit one bit: “How masochist of me damn.”
“You know the fruits good when it starts fighting back,” joked a third.
Many others flooded in to share their own war stories concerning pineapples that packed a punch: “It always feel so raw afterwards, this makes so much sense.”
“My mouth be sore as hell after going crazy on them pineapples,” revealed a fifth, while a sixth added: “Mine sometimes bleeds.”
Another praised: “Thank you… never knew tropical fruit had defence mechanisms… very interesting.”
Indeed.
Still gonna eat it though, painapple or not.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
