1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff, Lauren, 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,479 Speaker 1: vocal bomb Here. The next time your taste buds revolt 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: at the first bite of an in flight meal, try 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: holding your tongue. Not literally, of course, but instead of 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: grousing about airlines and the food they serve. The blame 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: for poor tasting fair may rest squarely in your mouth 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: and the way your senses respond to the noise, pressure, 8 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: and altitude associated with air travel. It's a lesson, Julia 9 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: Buckley learned firsthand. A United Kingdom based travel journalist and 10 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: frequent transatlantic flyer, Buckley was selected by British Airways to 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: help choose a new onboard t She told us via email, 12 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: I was one of the judges for the final stage 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: when it was down to three potential teas on a flight. 14 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: We blind tasted four teas at various stages of the flight. 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: I was convinced I was selecting the same one throughout 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: is my favorite, but actually my choices were changing with 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: every tasting. Later, Buckley learned that the t should liked 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: best on the ground had been the one that became 19 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: unbearably acidic halfway through the flight. She was surprised and 20 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: a little mortified, she said, I hadn't realized how much 21 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: taste changes in the air. The two teas that felt 22 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: overpowering on the ground were the most palatable in the 23 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: air within an hour of the flight, whereas the most 24 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: delicate one suddenly lost its flavor and brought the acidity 25 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,839 Speaker 1: to the forefront. It's a phenomenon. Researchers at Cornell University 26 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 1: witnessed as they gaged the reactions of forty eight people 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: to flavors under different conditions. They gave the participants liquids 28 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: designed to mimic one of our five taste sensations sweet, salty, bitter, sour, 29 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: and umami or savory. As participants sampled the solutions, they 30 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: did so under two different scenarios, first in silence, and 31 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: second while listening to the sound of an eighty five 32 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: decipel jet engine. The results showed the participants sense of salty, sour, 33 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: and bitter remained about the same whether or not conditions 34 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: were noisy. However, these same in flight sounds dulled sweet 35 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: tastes and enhanced umami tastes like tomato juice, which may 36 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: explain why tomato juice and bloody mary cocktails are so popular. 37 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: At altitude. By the way, alcoholic drinks don't actually become 38 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: more potent on planes, but they can feel that way 39 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: because altitude restricts your body's oxygen intake. It seems that 40 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: multiple sensory properties of our environment can change how we 41 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: perceive food and drink, and it isn't only air travel 42 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: that can have an effect. Shanty Celibert, al Los Angeles 43 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: based senior writer for Modern Hiker, spent several weeks at 44 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: ten thousand feet that's about three thousand meters above sea 45 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: level as she traversed the Pacific Crest Trail. She told us, 46 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: as I crept higher and higher, I noticed my appetite 47 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: changed drastically. I found my palate swaying to the extremes. 48 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: I craved boatloads of salt and the sugariest sweets I 49 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: could find. These yearnings for salty and intensely sweet flavors 50 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: fall right in line with the findings at Germany's frown 51 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: Hoffer Institute for Building Physics. At an airline's request, the 52 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: institute set out to study passenger perceptions of sweetness and 53 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: saltiness and discovered that both dropped by up to thirty 54 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: percent during arid simulated flight conditions. It's something to keep 55 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: in mind the next time you fly and opt for 56 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:19,679 Speaker 1: a promising tomato based entree and beverage. Today's episode was 57 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by Tristan McNeil. 58 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other savory topics, 59 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com