You can discuss this video over on REDDIT if you want: stvmld.com/jrwepagi Bitrex really sticks around in your mouth. I regret filming that bit for real. You can support me on Patreon to get access to the bonus video here: stvmld.com/fbku3aj2 The sponsor is brilliant: The first 200 people to sign up at brilliant.org/stevemould will get 20% off an annual subscription.
This is the LockPickingPlant, and what I have for you today is a sweet taste receptor from a mammal. Usually you need sugar to open this, but there is an almost unforgivable amount of sloppiness in this design. I'm going to show you that not only can it be opened with a low-cost protein based attack, but how it's so much easier and more effective than doing it with the proper glucose.
Pooping out seeds right next to a huge established tree is a total dick move. Please be considerate and poop out in the open where the new plants can get plenty of light. That's the deal!
Lots of tree's support life under their canopy that wouldn't be able to survive elsewhere. And besides... birds sit in tree'z. Birds eat chilies and poop the seeds out under tree branches. We eat chilies. And have to poop somewhere to. Stop segregating bathrooms. Everybody poops. See how woke you would be!
@@DavidBryantsTranscendent Just FYI, it's trees. Apostrophes with an S makes a word is possessive. Just adding an S makes it plural. E.g., David's original sentence was talking about a single tree's decision to support life under the canopy, as opposed to many Davids talking about many trees which make up a forest. (Personally, I have a theory that the extra apostrophes popping up in plurals is a tiny alien invasion. They are mostly harmless, and are just observing us, but do add a bit of confusion to our communication.)
@@thewiseturtle do I need to post an article about how correcting grammar in TH-cam comments is a waste of life? For all you know I could have been pooping while I replied. Spend time more wise zzzzz ly.
Hi Steve, I work on taste receptors as part of my PhD! And you're right about the brazzein binding to sweet taste receptors, but it only binds to one half of the complex, T1R3. Curiously the same part that is present in umami complexes, despite not causing an umami taste!
You’re exactly what I wish my science teachers could have been like. Engaging, funny, interesting. Your points are often things that would otherwise be difficult to grasp but with your explanations become an interesting topic. Keep up the great work!
10:45 "Gorillas have evolved " Gorilla : (( You tell 'em Stevo ! )) Also Gorilla : (( Really ? Gots ta show me nose snacking ? . . . (( How'd ya like it if I showed you droppin' a load in the woods ? (( What?! Oh, really ? . . . shameless, eh ? )) B-)
This reminded me of a hypothesis I figured out a couple days ago considering the typical "kindergarten puking chain reaction" - it may be beneficial for animals living in groups that they all start vomiting (or at least become more susceptible to it) once one of them shows signs of poisoning just in case more of them ate the poison, maybe a little while after the first puking individual.
2:40 It's the same with different sweeteners mixed together. A mix of honey and maple syrup will taste sweet, but when pulled apart they have a completely different taste, while still being sweet.
Just wait until you find out that brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and kale are technically all the same plant species. Just different cultivars and only so weirdly different because of selective breeding much like we have done with dogs. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_oleracea
@@PeppoMusic That's fascinating, but I did actually know that before. Maybe that's why I expected brussel sprouts to look more like a mini version of cauliflower with one sprout per plant. Thanks for the wiki link, its definitely worth looking at.
I love your sense of humour. It makes your videos much more entertaining, yet still very comprehensive. And... OH MY GOD! I've never thought how brussels sprouts grow! It's hilarious!!! ♥️
Aspartame actually has the same caloric density as sugar (4 Calories per gram). The difference is that it binds much more strongly to the taste receptors and so less of it is needed.
@@TubeMeisterJC He said it pretty much exactly how I've always hear it. Except where I live they would say it with a less pure 'a' after the 'p'-I almost spelled it 'aspertame' by mistake-and with a harder 'r'. But those differences are just due to the accent here in the western rural US. I prefer how he says it personally.
@@patje444 I don't think so. The reaction in the intestins is based on the binding of taste receptors and so would be affected by the amount of sweetness detected, not the mass present. You use a lot less apartame because it's way sweet so the net change in sweetness detected is ~0.
2:08 Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) will also work! Importantly it also wont kill you. It is (or at least WAS) used in low sodium salt as well, either alone or in a combination with NaCl (because it too does not taste exactly like salt). In my experience it does taste salty, but doesnt taste like salt...if that makes sense...
Not just humans! My late cat was a big big chilli fan. His absolute favourite was chili Doritos, and we had to actually get rid of a chilli plant once because he'd specifically seek it out to go eat it.
Luckily that still works out for Chillis as now they are being actively bread by the very mammals they intended to dissuade. So it's kinda win win. There is a reason some types of grass make up perhaps the most successful land plant species in the world
Your description of hydronium was good up to the point you compared it to the Na+ • 6H2O hydration shell. H3O+ is covalently bonded and also has a shell of H2O molecules that are not covalently bonded to it. It is not the same as just H+ with a hydration shell. It is still written H+ as a shorthand, but was originally written that way because it was thought to exist stably in that form, which is now known to not be the case.
From a video of Explosions&Fire (a surprisingly good chemistry channel), he tested the taste all the alkali chloride salts. Everything heavier than KCl was extremely bitter, and interestingly, LiCl had a sort of zesty bite to it, but NaCl was the saltiest tasting. It makes sense that we detect Na+ the best/enjoy it the most. I wonder if the bitter taste comes from the ions being unable to travel through the channels due to being physically larger? Dunno, biology isn't my area.
Potassium alum (in case you use that for desinfecting your skin after shaving) has this vague hard to pinpoint salty and sour taste. The weak saltiness is easy to connect to the potassium ions and the sourness to the sulfates, but now I wonder if the aluminium ions also have a chance taste that adds to the mix.
Hey Steve, as a new dad and a science guy, I'm always thinking about how I'm going to teach my son about all these different concepts I see in your videos. So, if you ever need an idea for more content, it would be great to have a channel where you make videos for other dads showing things we can make at home or maybe even some toy recommendations.
Your videos are just top tier. Interesting and difficult topics great explained and still funny and goofy. First saw you many years ago in a Numberphile video and was delighted once I found out you've got your own channel ☺️
5:29 I would append that humans are REALLY GOOD at sweating, so eating foods that make our bodies go "Oh God Oh Frick Time To Sweat" can help us cool down in hot temperatures!
That might be a plausible answer. If we look at the countries that like spicy food (Mexico, China, Jamaica, Korea, Malasia, India, Ethiopia, Buthan), many of them are hot places... And the sweat factor is really important in human evolution Interesting catch
Hello Steve, Great Video! I need to comment on what you said at about 10:00 min into the video about hydronium, complexes and disolved sugar. These three are completly different things. When comparing ion mobility of elements of the first group of the PSE, for example, you can see protons standing out because they do not have solvation shells and can execute the so called Grotthuß mechanism. Alcohols like sugars also do not have solvation shells and are dissolved through strong hydrogen bonds. The intermolecular forces and mechanism are very different and should not be equated.
I almost commented on the proton/hydronium thing when you posted your earlier video. For those who were complaining about it being H3O+, it's even more often H5O2+, and sometimes H7O3+ (or beyond) for exactly the reason that you mentioned. When you dissolve things in water, saying what chemical compound they actually are gets complicated.
Isn't the proton bound to one of the water molecules through a covalent bond, while the interaction with the other molecules is through hydrogen bonds?
I'm a super taster and I can't stand any bitter at all. I'm glad you explained it so well because now I realize why I can "feel" the bitter food moving through my entire system. I've never been able to explain to my family why I feel so ill after eating something bitter. Thanks
6:50 as a drugaddict, I can confirm your hypothesis. Chewing a certain tablet tastes aweful the first few times, but as your brain starts associating that taste with the painkilling effect it starts to taste quite allright. Today, tasting it genuinely makes me a little happy and as a result the taste is good. As a sidenote, drugs have *deffinitely* messed me up. Stay away.
So, we I read somewhere that atoms never "touch" each other because they are surrounded by electrons and their negative charge repel each other. If the H ion is a proton alone, how can they exist without sticking to the closest neighbor's electrons?
This is actually a good question, and you're right: if an H+ was close to another available electron, they would attract to one another and form elemental H, but the reason the H+ stays a proton is due to the fact that there aren't many free electrons willing to bind to the proton. All the available electrons in the area are already bound to another atom in some other molecule, and those electrons need some energy to release from their parent atom to become available for the proton. This is the same reason a solution of aqueous HCL doesn't become less acidic over time.
Atoms repel each other mostly because of Pauli exclusion of the electrons, not because of electric charge. Secondly, the surrounding water molecules are neutral, but the hydrogen ion is still attracted to them via charge-dipole interactions, which is weaker than charge-charge interactions. So it does stick for short periods of time. However hydronium is not very stable, and it quickly gives up a proton, which hops to another water molecule, which turns into a hydronium, which after a short time again gives up a proton etc . This is called the Grotthuss mechanism.
Atoms are neutral on the scale those H ions are moving about, while they are attracted to the nearest electron, they are attracted to *all* nearest electrons practically canceling out any net sticking But hey that's just a theory a TH-cam comment theory. Ultimately when they do 'stick' to a electron they recombine to create an hydrogen atom which ultimately gets repelled by the rest of the atom. The atom that now lost its electron then turns into a negative ion
5:13 when pain feels good. sure, pain can elicit certain feelings of displeasure, but it's a physical-based displeasure that our bodies automatically compensate for with a boost in endorphins which feels so good.
I love the hypothesis about people being more prone to accept a bitter taste if there are addictive compounds. It seems like it could be tested by finding people who haven't really had coffee, for example, and giving some of them caffeinated coffee every day and some decaf and seeing if the caffeinated coffee drinkers begin to report the flavor as more pleasant even when their coffee is switched with decaf.
love the touch of comedy it helps with my (and everyone else's) short attention spam especially since science and math videos start to get boring after a certain duration
Concerning why many people like spicy food, there is a likely evolutionary reason. Capsaicin molecules seem to have antifungal properties, making them functional food preservatives. You may have noticed that most cultures associated with spicy foods are in tropical or subtropical climates where heat and moisture accelerate the decay of foods. In cold climates food shelf life can be extended by burying it in snow or even in the ground. Or, food can be dried, and fairly easily be kept dry. In hot areas, there were few options to preserve food outside of salt (which was historically difficult to come by) and spicy stuff. Individuals who enjoyed - or could learn to enjoy - feeling like their mouth was on fire had more reliable access to calories and were less likely to be poisoned by their own food. Resultantly, they had more energy for making babies and starved less. You know how it goes from there.
Interesting hypothesis. Korea is an outlier in this though, they love chili, but have a colder climate than Japan where most people do not like spicy food even if the southern parts are hot and humide for big parts of the year.
Paused the video and immediately bought some PTC strips and some litmus strips. Going to do some fun science experiments with the kid when they arrive. Thanks!
System Aert in your stomach! As usual just brilliant, as a cook i really enjoy'd this one especially because its all about generating an experiance in the mouth not only from a nutritional aspect but aswell from taste wise. Its just great to understand taste, we once did a sensor test with closed nose, some things get impossible to differentiate like apples and onions or Cinnamon starts to taste spicy on the tongue.
This is honestly one of the most interesting videos I've watched in a while. It answered so many questions I've had for a long time, along with a bunch that I didn't even know I had! So thanks for that, Steve. Also the pooping shot. Thanks for that, too, I guess.
I've always wondered why I can't taste any bitterness in citrus fruits even if others say it's nearly impossible to enjoy these. Now I finally have the answer, thank you ! :)
6:55 This makes a ton of sense! It's like how people want "stronk man coffee" bitter as can be, when the more roasted the coffee is, the less caffeine it actually has. We associate the taste with the effect, and perceive a stronger taste to have more effect (even if it doesn't directly do that)
This is something i was wondering for a long while and that is since chillies stimulate our painfully heat sensors could it be possible to syntetize pleasantly warm sensors and have warm food without heating?
The Explosions & Fire channel did an interesting video on trying out all the metallic salts that were not toxic. They made fries with friends and tried all of them. Really interesting video! :)
That's evolution for ya. I believe it has something to do with the body finding ways to learn about bacteria and viruses by tasting them, so the immune system can deal with them more effectively. Though it's still not really clear why we evolved to eat our snot. So who knows. But it's probably beneficial in some way, since it has indeed evolved in more than one species.
@@thewiseturtle sometimes the body does random things too, and if they prove to be beneficial, it adds that particular behaviour to the DNA to be carried to the next gen
@@AlienProGamer Yep. That's what evolution is. Random mutation and natural selection (for life-promoting patterns). Snot eating is naturally selected as a trait in some species. Why? Not sure. Probably due to the stomach being really good at breaking down various materials due to all of the diverse species of cells living in our digestive tracts and finding ways to process them usefully, instead of treating them as toxins. Our human immune system might not be as effective at dealing with viruses and bacteria that get into our lungs and bloodstream through our membranes as the collection of thousands of species living in our guts.
Another theory regarding Cacao or cofee being bitter: Cacao is toxic to some mammals (at least dog and cats), maybe we identifies it as bitter because it was toxic to some of ancestors ?
I have that. I was told that super tasters have that gene which is why we can taste the soap. But I love brassicas of all kinds and don't find them bitter so now I'm really confused.
My theory for why humans like spice is that usually when a food is hot it means its cooked, when a food is cooked it has less bacteria. We have learned that eating hot food prevents disease and that's why some of us like spicy food. our brains think its less likely to kill us.
My hypothesis is a “lock and key” failure again: but this time it’s a genetic mutuation that changes the protein that receives the cilantro molecule. TLDR: genetics.
When you mentioned that bitter is a "poison detection system" it really set off a lot of alarm bells in my head. I definitely would NOT have survived during the days of hunting and gathering because I actually like bitter flavors.
We are groomed from childhood to be addicted to sweetness, and via lack of exposure (because everything that is processed nowadays is very sweet, sour or salty) we're also groomed to be repulsed by bitterness, because it is not familiar. It is only through practice that we can come to greatly appreciate the wide array of exquisite flavors found in bitter food and drink.
So does the minty flavour caused by menthol work in the same way as capsaicin, Because mint flavoured things feels cold in a similar way that spice flavoured food feels hot. Just curious if it's the same mechanism or something different.
11:32 That 5 does not look like a 2 in the slightest. Just before posting this, I noticed that the Brilliant Staff pointed out that the neural network has flaws, at the bottom of the page.
I like your hypothesis on why we like bitter tastes. I remember as a kid hating everything bitter, but grew to like it as I got older. I wonder if adults who don't enjoy / consume any pleasurable psychoactive bitter substances are less likely to enjoy bitter foods?
You can discuss this video over on REDDIT if you want: stvmld.com/jrwepagi
Bitrex really sticks around in your mouth. I regret filming that bit for real.
You can support me on Patreon to get access to the bonus video here: stvmld.com/fbku3aj2
The sponsor is brilliant: The first 200 people to sign up at brilliant.org/stevemould will get 20% off an annual subscription.
Ok
Damn I'm early
Love your stuff Steve Mould!
hey can u make a whole video on just umami taste.
Yes
This is the LockPickingPlant, and what I have for you today is a sweet taste receptor from a mammal. Usually you need sugar to open this, but there is an almost unforgivable amount of sloppiness in this design. I'm going to show you that not only can it be opened with a low-cost protein based attack, but how it's so much easier and more effective than doing it with the proper glucose.
Underrated
Needs more clicks, gates, cylinders, and reference to wine or ice cream for his wife/companion plant.
Yo, I can only imagine the height of effort you put to make that up. props to you!
Best comment does not ex...
Holy shit you really went in on this comment 😂
I love it!
I was not mentally prepared to see that shot of you pooping in the woods Steve
2nd reply
I wasn't surprised. Tomatoes are disgusting, though ...
The moment where he looks at the camera right before the shot ends really got me
Wasn't expecting to see you here, love your channel tho and keep up the awesome vids
Shoulda joined the Boy Scouts. They're ready for anything.
Pooping out seeds right next to a huge established tree is a total dick move. Please be considerate and poop out in the open where the new plants can get plenty of light. That's the deal!
🤣...but the tree'z have seniority!
And they need the nutrients so they can talk tree shit.
Lots of tree's support life under their canopy that wouldn't be able to survive elsewhere. And besides... birds sit in tree'z. Birds eat chilies and poop the seeds out under tree branches. We eat chilies. And have to poop somewhere to. Stop segregating bathrooms. Everybody poops.
See how woke you would be!
@@DavidBryantsTranscendent Just FYI, it's trees. Apostrophes with an S makes a word is possessive. Just adding an S makes it plural. E.g., David's original sentence was talking about a single tree's decision to support life under the canopy, as opposed to many Davids talking about many trees which make up a forest. (Personally, I have a theory that the extra apostrophes popping up in plurals is a tiny alien invasion. They are mostly harmless, and are just observing us, but do add a bit of confusion to our communication.)
@@thewiseturtle do I need to post an article about how correcting grammar in TH-cam comments is a waste of life? For all you know I could have been pooping while I replied. Spend time more wise zzzzz ly.
Steve Mould mentions the words "Benign Masochism", and everything in my life fell instantly into place.
10:44
Steve: "Gorillas have evolved."
*Cuts to a video of a gorilla picking its nose*
Look mom I told you it's natural, gorillas do it too.
...and then immediately eating it.
It's subtle edits like this that make the channel entertaining to watch 😄
@@naota3k apparently it's good for the gut... I do it in solace: I don't have to go to the sink and yeah the pre/ pro biotic my gut gets
There are enzymes in your snot known to have health benefits.
Hi Steve, I work on taste receptors as part of my PhD! And you're right about the brazzein binding to sweet taste receptors, but it only binds to one half of the complex, T1R3. Curiously the same part that is present in umami complexes, despite not causing an umami taste!
Did you finish it?
@@91JLovesDisney in my final year now! Writing up my thesis soon!
@@spookstory2519 awesome! What field?
mint also works like capsaicin, activating the TRPM8 receptor which is intended to trip around 20-26 Celsius to detect cool, but not cold sensation.
Interesting! I wonder why mint sometimes makes us sneeze?
@@Jesse__H huh?
@@Jesse__H Sneezing isn’t normal - I never sneeze.
@@Jesse__H I've never sneezed from mint. Maybe you have an allergy?
@@Jesse__H If anything mint clears the airways, it doesn't make the average person sneeze
You’re exactly what I wish my science teachers could have been like. Engaging, funny, interesting. Your points are often things that would otherwise be difficult to grasp but with your explanations become an interesting topic. Keep up the great work!
Someone sounds like they wished they could have banged their high-school teacher lol Inappropriate.
AERT! AERT! SOUND THE AARM!
Came here to call out the same typo, glad to see you already had things handled :p
8:24 SYSTEM AERRTTT
It's a very thick accent, and pronounced "a-ert" and "a-arm" :D
NAARM!
Noel Noel. Is it Christmas aready?
5:23 great quote
10:45 i bet that gorilla is stimulating their proton receptors
Boogers are more salty than bitter
10:45 "Gorillas have evolved " Gorilla : (( You tell 'em Stevo ! ))
Also Gorilla : (( Really ? Gots ta show me nose snacking ? . . .
(( How'd ya like it if I showed you droppin' a load in the woods ?
(( What?! Oh, really ? . . . shameless, eh ? )) B-)
@@diamonddogie You mean more salty than sour. Sour (acid) is the proton receptor one.
This reminded me of a hypothesis I figured out a couple days ago considering the typical "kindergarten puking chain reaction" - it may be beneficial for animals living in groups that they all start vomiting (or at least become more susceptible to it) once one of them shows signs of poisoning just in case more of them ate the poison, maybe a little while after the first puking individual.
Yup, that's exactly what it is!
Benign Masochism would be a great band name.
Oooohhh, can I use that?
Prog rock band (:
For shoegaze
also with The Supertasters!!
I maintain that Thermonuclear Dodo would be an epic band name.
"Gorillas have evolved"
Proceeds to show clip of gorilla ferociously eating the boogers from its nose
...and eating the boogers. don't forget that crucial detail!
It recycles antibodies!
10:44 because we all want to see it again
So, that time I had a huge piece of cake and decided to have coke zero to compensate...I was actually introducing a Trojan Horse to myself.
Nice observation!
I don't get it
@@NoNameAtAll2 8:37
Eh, normally, I would be eating a normal coke AND the cake anyway, so to me it is a few hundred less calories than normal, regardless of the optics.
I mean, aye, sweeteners be bad. A whole lot of precursory evidence that sweeteners are more causational to diabetes than sugar itself.
2:40 It's the same with different sweeteners mixed together. A mix of honey and maple syrup will taste sweet, but when pulled apart they have a completely different taste, while still being sweet.
8:19 What is a System Aert? :P
Pointing out typos makes me feel like a big man.
Haha well spotted I missed that first time around!
Well ya scared me for a second there. Damned typos
Automated Emergency Response Tip
searched for that comment :D
@@Mr.Exquisite when you got past the first 10 and didn't see it, did you also think you were the first? :P
"Gorillas have evolved their sense of taste". Shows a mummy gorilla eating her bogies while holding her baby. Lovely.
6:06 I was today years old when I learned how the plants of brussel sprouts look like
Just wait until you find out that brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and kale are technically all the same plant species. Just different cultivars and only so weirdly different because of selective breeding much like we have done with dogs.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica_oleracea
I suggest growin' a couple veg plants, if only for the science. It is eeeeasy
@@PeppoMusic That's fascinating, but I did actually know that before. Maybe that's why I expected brussel sprouts to look more like a mini version of cauliflower with one sprout per plant.
Thanks for the wiki link, its definitely worth looking at.
I love your sense of humour. It makes your videos much more entertaining, yet still very comprehensive.
And... OH MY GOD! I've never thought how brussels sprouts grow! It's hilarious!!! ♥️
Aspartame actually has the same caloric density as sugar (4 Calories per gram). The difference is that it binds much more strongly to the taste receptors and so less of it is needed.
@@TubeMeisterJC He said it pretty much exactly how I've always hear it. Except where I live they would say it with a less pure 'a' after the 'p'-I almost spelled it 'aspertame' by mistake-and with a harder 'r'. But those differences are just due to the accent here in the western rural US. I prefer how he says it personally.
Does this also change Steve's claim about the body absorbing more real sugar when using asparame?
@@patje444 I don't think so. The reaction in the intestins is based on the binding of taste receptors and so would be affected by the amount of sweetness detected, not the mass present. You use a lot less apartame because it's way sweet so the net change in sweetness detected is ~0.
Also, aspartame tastes like _>kak
Cool
2:08 Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) will also work! Importantly it also wont kill you. It is (or at least WAS) used in low sodium salt as well, either alone or in a combination with NaCl (because it too does not taste exactly like salt). In my experience it does taste salty, but doesnt taste like salt...if that makes sense...
Chillis: create a specialized chemical over millions of years to dissuade mammals from eating them
Humans: *Now This is some Gourmet Shit right here*
Not just humans! My late cat was a big big chilli fan. His absolute favourite was chili Doritos, and we had to actually get rid of a chilli plant once because he'd specifically seek it out to go eat it.
@@OfficiallyErling that's crazy!
Luckily that still works out for Chillis as now they are being actively bread by the very mammals they intended to dissuade. So it's kinda win win.
There is a reason some types of grass make up perhaps the most successful land plant species in the world
@@OfficiallyErling mammals are weird🤷♂️
@@OfficiallyErling was your cat a Mexican hairless?
I'll see myself out.
Your description of hydronium was good up to the point you compared it to the Na+ • 6H2O hydration shell. H3O+ is covalently bonded and also has a shell of H2O molecules that are not covalently bonded to it. It is not the same as just H+ with a hydration shell. It is still written H+ as a shorthand, but was originally written that way because it was thought to exist stably in that form, which is now known to not be the case.
From a video of Explosions&Fire (a surprisingly good chemistry channel), he tested the taste all the alkali chloride salts. Everything heavier than KCl was extremely bitter, and interestingly, LiCl had a sort of zesty bite to it, but NaCl was the saltiest tasting. It makes sense that we detect Na+ the best/enjoy it the most. I wonder if the bitter taste comes from the ions being unable to travel through the channels due to being physically larger? Dunno, biology isn't my area.
I would hope nacl tasted salty
Potassium alum (in case you use that for desinfecting your skin after shaving) has this vague hard to pinpoint salty and sour taste. The weak saltiness is easy to connect to the potassium ions and the sourness to the sulfates, but now I wonder if the aluminium ions also have a chance taste that adds to the mix.
@@Nelchihaak why would the sulfates taste sour?
@@jonathanodude6660 I guess so. Maybe I was making a too hasty leap from sulfuric acid. In that case the strange weak sourness remains a mystery.
@@Nelchihaak maybe the oxidation state of the aluminium is slightly acidic, in that it pulls hydroxide out of the water, leaving protons?
You make videos on such simple everyday science its extremely refreshing!!!
Hey Steve, as a new dad and a science guy, I'm always thinking about how I'm going to teach my son about all these different concepts I see in your videos. So, if you ever need an idea for more content, it would be great to have a channel where you make videos for other dads showing things we can make at home or maybe even some toy recommendations.
As a science-y aunt, I'd also be up for that!
If you like science, you might like my channel :)
@@Sciencigo nice channel! Keep it up!
@@philidor9657 Thank you! 😃
It's nice when someone seems genuinely enthused about their sponsor :)
4:56 I just loved awkward that self promotion.
I'm enlightened, you answered so many questions I had as well as some I didn't have but liked getting the answers to.
Your videos are just top tier. Interesting and difficult topics great explained and still funny and goofy. First saw you many years ago in a Numberphile video and was delighted once I found out you've got your own channel ☺️
Me: (pooping in yard)
Mom: oh my god we have a toilet
Me: the plants paid me to
5:50 Nintendo game cardriges (Gameboy/3D DS/Switch) are also made bitter to prevent small children do chew/swallow them. :-)
5:29 I would append that humans are REALLY GOOD at sweating, so eating foods that make our bodies go "Oh God Oh Frick Time To Sweat" can help us cool down in hot temperatures!
Which statement? "Humans are weird"? That timestamp directs to him talking about non-toxic bitterants.
That might be a plausible answer.
If we look at the countries that like spicy food (Mexico, China, Jamaica, Korea, Malasia, India, Ethiopia, Buthan), many of them are hot places... And the sweat factor is really important in human evolution
Interesting catch
Really well explained 👍 I knew that MSG gave foods a savory flavor, but I never knew the glutamate/protein association was behind it. Great video!
Hello Steve,
Great Video!
I need to comment on what you said at about 10:00 min into the video about hydronium, complexes and disolved sugar. These three are completly different things. When comparing ion mobility of elements of the first group of the PSE, for example, you can see protons standing out because they do not have solvation shells and can execute the so called Grotthuß mechanism. Alcohols like sugars also do not have solvation shells and are dissolved through strong hydrogen bonds. The intermolecular forces and mechanism are very different and should not be equated.
I almost commented on the proton/hydronium thing when you posted your earlier video. For those who were complaining about it being H3O+, it's even more often H5O2+, and sometimes H7O3+ (or beyond) for exactly the reason that you mentioned. When you dissolve things in water, saying what chemical compound they actually are gets complicated.
Isn't the proton bound to one of the water molecules through a covalent bond, while the interaction with the other molecules is through hydrogen bonds?
@@HeythemMD Fair point - I've seen it both ways in journal articles. Oxonium ions are weird.
Honestly this guys videos are amazing
I'm a super taster and I can't stand any bitter at all. I'm glad you explained it so well because now I realize why I can "feel" the bitter food moving through my entire system. I've never been able to explain to my family why I feel so ill after eating something bitter. Thanks
6:50 as a drugaddict, I can confirm your hypothesis. Chewing a certain tablet tastes aweful the first few times, but as your brain starts associating that taste with the painkilling effect it starts to taste quite allright.
Today, tasting it genuinely makes me a little happy and as a result the taste is good.
As a sidenote, drugs have *deffinitely* messed me up. Stay away.
So, we I read somewhere that atoms never "touch" each other because they are surrounded by electrons and their negative charge repel each other. If the H ion is a proton alone, how can they exist without sticking to the closest neighbor's electrons?
This is actually a good question, and you're right: if an H+ was close to another available electron, they would attract to one another and form elemental H, but the reason the H+ stays a proton is due to the fact that there aren't many free electrons willing to bind to the proton. All the available electrons in the area are already bound to another atom in some other molecule, and those electrons need some energy to release from their parent atom to become available for the proton. This is the same reason a solution of aqueous HCL doesn't become less acidic over time.
@@msachin4885 but wouldnt the H+ just bond to the other atom and create a molecule?
Atoms repel each other mostly because of Pauli exclusion of the electrons, not because of electric charge. Secondly, the surrounding water molecules are neutral, but the hydrogen ion is still attracted to them via charge-dipole interactions, which is weaker than charge-charge interactions. So it does stick for short periods of time. However hydronium is not very stable, and it quickly gives up a proton, which hops to another water molecule, which turns into a hydronium, which after a short time again gives up a proton etc . This is called the Grotthuss mechanism.
9:27 he covers this in this very video
Atoms are neutral on the scale those H ions are moving about, while they are attracted to the nearest electron, they are attracted to *all* nearest electrons practically canceling out any net sticking
But hey that's just a theory a TH-cam comment theory.
Ultimately when they do 'stick' to a electron they recombine to create an hydrogen atom which ultimately gets repelled by the rest of the atom. The atom that now lost its electron then turns into a negative ion
5:13 when pain feels good. sure, pain can elicit certain feelings of displeasure, but it's a physical-based displeasure that our bodies automatically compensate for with a boost in endorphins which feels so good.
Hey Steve, thanks for addressing the question about hydronium ions!
I love the hypothesis about people being more prone to accept a bitter taste if there are addictive compounds. It seems like it could be tested by finding people who haven't really had coffee, for example, and giving some of them caffeinated coffee every day and some decaf and seeing if the caffeinated coffee drinkers begin to report the flavor as more pleasant even when their coffee is switched with decaf.
Decaf has caffeine still
@@FrigginCatsBruhWay less so, though.
love the touch of comedy it helps with my (and everyone else's) short attention spam especially since science and math videos start to get boring after a certain duration
Concerning why many people like spicy food, there is a likely evolutionary reason. Capsaicin molecules seem to have antifungal properties, making them functional food preservatives. You may have noticed that most cultures associated with spicy foods are in tropical or subtropical climates where heat and moisture accelerate the decay of foods. In cold climates food shelf life can be extended by burying it in snow or even in the ground. Or, food can be dried, and fairly easily be kept dry.
In hot areas, there were few options to preserve food outside of salt (which was historically difficult to come by) and spicy stuff. Individuals who enjoyed - or could learn to enjoy - feeling like their mouth was on fire had more reliable access to calories and were less likely to be poisoned by their own food. Resultantly, they had more energy for making babies and starved less. You know how it goes from there.
Interesting hypothesis. Korea is an outlier in this though, they love chili, but have a colder climate than Japan where most people do not like spicy food even if the southern parts are hot and humide for big parts of the year.
Pretty sure their existence in hot countries is mainly because.. that's where the chilli plants naturally grow. But otherwise, not a bad shout.
It doesn't work as a preservative. Spices don't grow in cold places.
Paused the video and immediately bought some PTC strips and some litmus strips. Going to do some fun science experiments with the kid when they arrive. Thanks!
8:20 What is a "System Aert"?
ært is the danish word for pea, so it's "system pea"
Amazing! I love this video, great work Steve & Team!
System Aert in your stomach!
As usual just brilliant, as a cook i really enjoy'd this one especially because its all about generating an experiance in the mouth not only from a nutritional aspect but aswell from taste wise.
Its just great to understand taste, we once did a sensor test with closed nose, some things get impossible to differentiate like apples and onions or Cinnamon starts to taste spicy on the tongue.
This is honestly one of the most interesting videos I've watched in a while. It answered so many questions I've had for a long time, along with a bunch that I didn't even know I had! So thanks for that, Steve.
Also the pooping shot. Thanks for that, too, I guess.
its a steve mould video, i can't resist it.🙂
I've always wondered why I can't taste any bitterness in citrus fruits even if others say it's nearly impossible to enjoy these.
Now I finally have the answer, thank you ! :)
6:55 This makes a ton of sense! It's like how people want "stronk man coffee" bitter as can be, when the more roasted the coffee is, the less caffeine it actually has. We associate the taste with the effect, and perceive a stronger taste to have more effect (even if it doesn't directly do that)
Me: who has to have de caf. 🤔 No rules for me!
Congrats on 1m subscribers!!! It's about time, and you're still yet to really blow up. Keep it up Steve!
0:17 the fact you went to the woods just to shoot this
plot twist: he is going for number 2 in the woods all the time
So many good chuckles in this one, Steve. Well done.
This is something i was wondering for a long while and that is since chillies stimulate our painfully heat sensors could it be possible to syntetize pleasantly warm sensors and have warm food without heating?
Try adding some Sriracha to leftover Mac and cheese and eating it straight out of the fridge, there is a kinda confusion that goes on
That's a really cool idea!
I'm a super taster but I love broccoli, it's neutral slightly sweet to me, not bitter unless overcooked
0:20 that fast head turn is going to haunt me for days
Glad you mentioned the miracle berry. Video was getting pretty late and I was wondering if left out.
"Gorilla's have evolved", showing a gorilla picking its nose xD
I love those details!
...and eating the boogers. don't forget that crucial detail!
@@mfaizsyahmi Yeah, I stopped paying attention to what Steve was saying at this point xD
3:20 Uncle Roger say: MSG is _"King of Flavour."_ It's better version of salt. MSG is _salt on crack._
8:21 typo
"system *aert"*
Man i love your vídeos, always with the interesting topics about common stuff we pretty much never think about!
The Explosions & Fire channel did an interesting video on trying out all the metallic salts that were not toxic. They made fries with friends and tried all of them. Really interesting video! :)
My honest out loud reaction to this video half way though was "holy shite, this is an effing great video!". Thanks, Steve!
10:44 "Gorillas have evolved"
The Gorilla : literally picking it's nose and eating it..
Repeatedly
That's evolution for ya. I believe it has something to do with the body finding ways to learn about bacteria and viruses by tasting them, so the immune system can deal with them more effectively. Though it's still not really clear why we evolved to eat our snot. So who knows. But it's probably beneficial in some way, since it has indeed evolved in more than one species.
@@thewiseturtle sometimes the body does random things too, and if they prove to be beneficial, it adds that particular behaviour to the DNA to be carried to the next gen
@@AlienProGamer Yep. That's what evolution is. Random mutation and natural selection (for life-promoting patterns). Snot eating is naturally selected as a trait in some species. Why? Not sure. Probably due to the stomach being really good at breaking down various materials due to all of the diverse species of cells living in our digestive tracts and finding ways to process them usefully, instead of treating them as toxins. Our human immune system might not be as effective at dealing with viruses and bacteria that get into our lungs and bloodstream through our membranes as the collection of thousands of species living in our guts.
5:21 we actually have a good hypothesis. It's that our brain produces dopamine as a painkiller (which humans like).
Hello there, it's the proteine picking lawyer
😂😂😂
Good one
5:05 these stock video clips are too good man!
10:43 "Gorilla have more evolved taste"
_Shows footage of Gorilla eating its own booger_
we just not guna talk about how "system alert" in the stomach 8:20 was spelled wrong?!?!.... lol steve i love your vids keep up the good work man!!!
Another theory regarding Cacao or cofee being bitter: Cacao is toxic to some mammals (at least dog and cats), maybe we identifies it as bitter because it was toxic to some of ancestors ?
Theobromide is toxic to humans as well, just in higher amounts.
I learned a lot, thanks. Such quality content, don't know how I didn't come across your channel earlier.
And then there's that annoying gene which makes coriander taste like soap.
Ooh I have that one
Coriander tastes awful… I’d prefer it to taste like soap
@@alandouglas2789 Heretic!
I have that. I was told that super tasters have that gene which is why we can taste the soap. But I love brassicas of all kinds and don't find them bitter so now I'm really confused.
@@NerysOsbourn There's different genes for each of these.
My theory for why humans like spice is that usually when a food is hot it means its cooked, when a food is cooked it has less bacteria. We have learned that eating hot food prevents disease and that's why some of us like spicy food. our brains think its less likely to kill us.
0:17 you really performed this stunt on your own?
Thanks for your teaching as also about Brilliant application.
Why does coriander taste like soap to some people?
Don't you mean cilantro?
@@kristyanne719 same thing
My hypothesis is a “lock and key” failure again: but this time it’s a genetic mutuation that changes the protein that receives the cilantro molecule.
TLDR: genetics.
You know what? I'm gonna look up some studies on it
Different perspective towards the taste
So much information in one video. I love it.
I liked the taste of that nail stuff. For me it was kinda like sweet tart. Where it’s weirdly addicting sweet bitter that gets u wanting more.
When you mentioned that bitter is a "poison detection system" it really set off a lot of alarm bells in my head. I definitely would NOT have survived during the days of hunting and gathering because I actually like bitter flavors.
We are groomed from childhood to be addicted to sweetness, and via lack of exposure (because everything that is processed nowadays is very sweet, sour or salty) we're also groomed to be repulsed by bitterness, because it is not familiar. It is only through practice that we can come to greatly appreciate the wide array of exquisite flavors found in bitter food and drink.
Fantastic content as usual Steve, keep it up!
With salt, are you suggesting any ionizable sodium compound is salty? Sodium bicarbonate? Sodium bromide?
I finally watched this video. it’s a good video. The reason I didn’t watch it sooner is the thumbnail is absolutely atrocious
I love the windshield washer fluid part
7:33 i like broccoli but hate loathe and detest sprouts. Never tgought of them as being in a similar class of tastes...
Came here for learning. Found out about Bitrex! Thanks Steve.
7:53 Ah so that's why I love sticking carrots up my.... Ehem I mean so that's why I love carrots
10:50 thanks for the footage of the gorilla picking it’s nose and eating it- having smallish children I struggled not to tell it off for doing that…
So does the minty flavour caused by menthol work in the same way as capsaicin, Because mint flavoured things feels cold in a similar way that spice flavoured food feels hot. Just curious if it's the same mechanism or something different.
7:00 I do taste bitter on the test strips. And I can't stand the taste (or even the smell) of broccoli.
11:32 That 5 does not look like a 2 in the slightest.
Just before posting this, I noticed that the Brilliant Staff pointed out that the neural network has flaws, at the bottom of the page.
One of the most interesting videos I’ve seen in a while.
Does anyone know what this sort of coffee press at 6:44 is called? Looks really interesting
French press. (A bit late but maybe useful for someone else)
Great video, haven't learned this much relevant stuff in a video in a while
I like your hypothesis on why we like bitter tastes. I remember as a kid hating everything bitter, but grew to like it as I got older. I wonder if adults who don't enjoy / consume any pleasurable psychoactive bitter substances are less likely to enjoy bitter foods?