# Did my old science book come from the FUTURE? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774 "2005-07-29T17:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/1 "2005-07-29T17:11:58Z")
I just heard on NPR about a groundbreaking study finding that cats can’t taste sweet. Looks like that chromosome was deleted early on in cat evolution. They made a big deal about what an amazing discovery this was, and that now they know why cats don’t like lots of foods, and can try to formulate new cat foods that sick cats will find palatable. Only, I remember having a cool science book as a kid that talked about cats not tasting sweet. They said to make a batch of cookies with no sugar, and that’s how it would taste to your cat. So what’s up with this? Is it just the news reporting got it skewed and the chromosome deletion discovery was the real story, or what? Also, if anyone can ID the science book, I’d love to get one for my daughter. It had great stuff like how to make your own ginger ale, making your arms “float” by pressing them against a door frame, cool kid stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/2 "2005-07-29T17:30:50Z")
Huh. If cats can’t taste sweet, how does my cat tell the difference between a croissant and a donut and find the one to lick all the sugar off of? He also goes absolutely insane for frosting of any sort. I’m stymied now. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/3 "2005-07-29T17:43:21Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > Huh. If cats can’t taste sweet, how does my cat tell the difference between a croissant and a donut and find the one to lick all the sugar off of? He also goes absolutely insane for frosting of any sort. > > I’m stymied now. :dubious: Maybe he likes the texture? Or there’s some flavor he tastes that’s separate from the sweet… Or maybe he’s a mutant! ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/4 "2005-07-29T17:46:38Z")
Odd. I remember my grade twelve biology teacher, in a discussion about enzymes, telling us that you should give someone alcohol if they’ve consumed antifreeze to avoid poisoning. Which led to a tangent about always keeping antifreeze locked away because children/cats/dogs like the \*\*sweet \*\* taste of it. He was prone to relaying many urban legends as facts though. At least once a week, a student would show up in class with a printout from Snopes. “No, Mr McGill, Coca Cola was never green.” So it’s entirely possible he pulled the whole story out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/5 "2005-07-29T17:49:30Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Or maybe he’s a mutant! Actually, he’s genetically enhanced–his name is Khan, after all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/6 "2005-07-29T17:59:42Z")
FWIW, I found the book on Amazon. Appropriately enough, it’s called _The Science Book_, by Sara Bonnett Stein. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/7 "2005-07-29T18:07:19Z")
> [@AerynSun](#): > > I just heard on NPR about a groundbreaking study finding that cats can’t taste sweet.\ So, I’m reading your OP, and it sounds kind of interesting - cats can’t taste sweet? Is that why they’re predators, instead of getting eaten? Oh. In the interest of dispelling old ideas and all, cats can actually see in colour, too. They see red the least, and blues the best. From[this](http://kittyshow.com/x_cat_vision_color.htm)site: > [@](#): > > Cats responded to the colors purple, blue, green and yellow range. Red, orange and brown colors appear to fall outside cats color range and are most likely seen as dark to mid shades of gray. Cats appear to see less saturation in colors than do humans, meaning cats do not see colors as intensely or vibrantly. Purple, blue & green appear to be the strongest colors perceived by cats ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/8 "2005-07-29T18:15:34Z")
> [@AerynSun](#): > > Also, if anyone can ID the science book, I’d love to get one for my daughter. It had great stuff like how to make your own ginger ale, making your arms “float” by pressing them against a door frame, cool kid stuff. I had that book, too. Didn’t have a chapter on growing your own popcorn and how to read a dog’s body language? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/9 "2005-07-29T18:37:34Z")
I - I - I - I gotta call BS on the cats not tasting sweet idea. My cat can’t seem to taste anything ELSE. He’s nuts for ice cream, chocolate, canteloupe, apples, bananas, peas, frosting, the SUGAR bowl, soda pop, honey… In short, this little guy would lead me to believe that the main ingredient in mice is sugar. Could it just be that cats in a laboratory setting are a bit stressed and are largely unwilling to display an affinity toward anything at all? Most humans I know love sweet things, yet we don’t have much variety in our sweet-sensitive taste buds. I think we only have, like, one type. And it delivers a rainbow of sweet varying in strength and flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Vreemdeling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Vreemdeling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vreemdeling)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/10 "2005-07-29T18:55:12Z")
Actually, the article was about \*why \* cats can’t taste sweet, rather than \*that \* cats can’t taste sweet. A chunk of the DNA encoding one of the two sweet receptors is deleted in cats and other felines. This is the explanation \*why \* they can’t taste sweet. We already knew \*that \* cats can’t taste sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/11 "2005-07-29T19:07:02Z")
Another thing they mentioned in the NPR story was that cats could probably taste things that we cannot. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/12 "2005-07-29T19:15:06Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > I - I - I - I gotta call BS on the cats not tasting sweet idea. My cat can’t seem to taste anything ELSE. He’s nuts for ice cream, chocolate, canteloupe, apples, bananas, peas, frosting, the SUGAR bowl, soda pop, honey… In short, this little guy would lead me to believe that the main ingredient in mice is sugar. > > Could it just be that cats in a laboratory setting are a bit stressed and are largely unwilling to display an affinity toward anything at all? > > Most humans I know love sweet things, yet we don’t have much variety in our sweet-sensitive taste buds. I think we only have, like, one type. And it delivers a rainbow of sweet varying in strength and flavor. In everything but pure sugar there are many other flavors preent other than sweet. I have a friend who is a food scientist and brought an herb to a party once (no not that kind of herb). When mixed with water and swished in your mouth it would COMPLETELY block all your sweet receptors. Sugar tasted like nothing. It was like eating disolving sand, but candy and other normally sweet things showed a great deal of other flavors, and a surpising amount of sour and bitter that are normally masked. So, it may be that your cat is responding to these other things rather than the sweet (except for the sugar, only thing I guess is that it has learned that it likes sugar highs). Also, that rainbow of flavor comes mostly from your nose, not from your mouth. Interesting, eh? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/13 "2005-07-29T19:15:49Z")
On NPR, they made it pretty clear that while a cat could like the taste of a sweet object, they are not actually tasting “Sweet”. Seems like a fine line, but these fine lines are what makes scientist happy/crazy. My cat loves Ice Cream and licking gum wrappers. Even sugarless gum wrappers. Makes me wonder if the study is confusing missing the common sweet gene with not being able to taste sweet. However, I do not have the inclination nor lab to do a scientific study. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/14 "2005-07-29T19:16:26Z")
Oh, and they mentioned that as far as icecream, cake and confections they are probably gaga over the fat. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/15 "2005-07-29T19:29:07Z")
> [@Vreemdeling](#): > > Actually, the article was about \*why \* cats can’t taste sweet, rather than \*that \* cats can’t taste sweet. Cats can most certainly taste sweet. Especially if you use the proper glaze. ducks & runs ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/16 "2005-07-29T19:31:40Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Cats can most certainly taste sweet. Especially if you use the proper glaze. > > ducks & runs Your name is Inigo Montoya, you ate my cat, prepare to die! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/17 "2005-07-29T21:05:37Z")
> [@flight](#): > > When mixed with water and swished in your mouth it would COMPLETELY block all your sweet receptors. This is really interesting. I would welcome more information on this subject, if you can check with your friend, or from anyone else who recognizes the herb in question. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/18 "2005-07-29T21:29:13Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > Odd. I remember my grade twelve biology teacher, in a discussion about enzymes, telling us that you should give someone alcohol if they’ve consumed antifreeze to avoid poisoning. Which led to a tangent about always keeping antifreeze locked away because children/cats/dogs like the \*\*sweet \*\* taste of it. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze_%28coolant%29) agrees with the kids & dogs but doesn’t mention cats. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/19 "2005-07-29T21:51:15Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze_%28coolant%29) agrees with the kids & dogs but doesn’t mention cats. Interesting, thanks muchly. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774/20 "2005-07-29T21:54:43Z")
Hasn’t stopped Maggie from chewing through a plastic bakery bag to get to donuts. (And yes, she’ll eat from the sugar bowl. I think it’s because Nor did it stop my old cat, Fluffy, from licking the maple syrup off of pancakes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-my-old-science-book-come-from-the-future/314774.md?page=2)