# Licking a popsicle stick **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837 "2004-03-28T01:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SeaDour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@SeaDour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDour)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/1 "2004-03-28T01:14:08Z")
You guys have gotta help me out here. Ever since I was a small child, I’ve noticed that I can experience a very strange phenomenom: whenever I lick a popsicle stick or any other similar wood item, I get a really bizarre and uncomfortable feeling that makes me want to immediately stop. It’s not unlike the recoil we exhibit when we hear grinding nails on a chalkboard, only I suppose this would be the same effect in taste form. I can even feel a little bit of the effect when I rub my finger over a wooden spoon, and even though it’s not nearly as bad as licking it, I still have the insatiable urge to stop right away. It’s not _painful_, it’s just really really annoying. I hope I’ve described it well enough for some of you to picture it (believe me, this is not something that’s easy to describe), so now I ask you: what the hell is going on here?? I’ve asked a lot of my friends and family if they have had similar experiences, and no one else except my father understands what I’m talking about. Has anyone else here had similar experiences, or at least heard of someone else having it? I’d even appreciate some wild theories as to what’s really causing it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/2 "2004-03-28T01:32:35Z")
I have a morbid fear of getting splinters from the stick. As soon as the stick begins to show, I use my teeth to scrape off the remaining ice cream or popsicle. I can’t use wooden toothpicks either for the same reason. The texture of the stick doesn’t bother me though if the stick touchs skin. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/3 "2004-03-28T01:44:02Z")
I’ve always had the same reaction. I think it’s just a tactile thing for some people. Gives me the shivers. ---
**Author:** ![sezyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@sezyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sezyou)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/4 "2004-03-28T01:52:28Z")
Wow! I thought I was the only one. I get nervous when the ice cream or popsicle starts to get close to the stick. I try to pull of the remaining bit with my teeth without actually touching the stick itself. The feeling of the stick against my teeth sends shivers all through me. Nothing else has this effect. ---
**Author:** ![river](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@river](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/river)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/5 "2004-03-28T01:52:38Z")
oh yeah, i know what you’re talking about. it’s gross. i guess for me it’s that “dryness”. ugh. gross. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/6 "2004-03-28T02:30:17Z")
Wow. I cringed just thinking about it. To me it’s like the sensation of biting on foil or someting metallic. Although that really doesn’t make any sense. _cringe_ ---
**Author:** ![Marsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Marsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marsie)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/7 "2004-03-28T02:44:24Z")
Stop it!!! You’ve given me the “willies”! ---
**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/8 "2004-03-28T03:13:00Z")
Probably all in your head, that’s my WAG anyway. On a related note, I have a friend who can’t stand the sound of fingernails on paper/cardboard, and can’t stand the feeling of her own fingernails scratching paper/cardboard. It’s very bizarre. Also really, really funny, but that’s another story. ---
**Author:** ![RayMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e495f1/32.png) [@RayMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RayMan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/9 "2004-03-28T03:38:34Z")
I have the exact same reaction. It was difficult for me to read this thread. I no longer eat popsicles for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@SeaDour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDour)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/10 "2004-03-28T03:44:03Z")
Well, it’s reassuring to see that so many other people have experienced this too. Now the only question is…what the heck could be causing it?? ---
**Author:** ![mdf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@mdf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/11 "2004-03-28T03:51:17Z")
I think everyone has _something_ that has that effect on them. Popsicle sticks and toothpicks don’t bother me, but I just hate touching unfinished stoneware - my wife has some of this stuff, it’s sold through parties like Tupperware. (Someone will know the name - something gourmet.) They grate against each other when pulled out of the cabinet and it just sets my teeth on edge. She makes me put them away - seems to think it’s funny. first post as a charter member, and it’s about kitchenware… sigh -mdf ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/12 "2004-03-28T05:01:42Z")
> [@dakravel](#): > > Probably all in your head, that’s my WAG anyway. > > On a related note, I have a friend who can’t stand the sound of fingernails on paper/cardboard, and can’t stand the feeling of her own fingernails scratching paper/cardboard. It’s very bizarre. Also really, really funny, but that’s another story. That’s exatly how I am. It’s worse then finger nails on a chalkboard. I have to walk away at work if I see someone trying to pick tape off a box with their nails (or I QUICKLY hand them a knife or a key to cut it with). When I carry boxes up on my shoulder (especially in winter, for some reason it’s even worse when the air is dry) I tend to curl by finger tips in so the box rests on the palm of my hand and there’s no chance of my nails touching it. Ugh I shiver just thinking about it. It almost makes me sick when I hear/do it. ---
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/13 "2004-03-28T05:21:21Z")
What gives me the ol’ shiver down the spine is the thought or action of scratching a bar of soap, and also imagining grinding one’s teeth down a rough brick wall. Yikes! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/14 "2004-03-28T06:56:19Z")
At least I’ve gotten better. Watching someone rub their hand over a surface as harmless as an ironing board or a rough wood surface used to give me the jeebies. Actually, the ironing board still does. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/15 "2004-03-28T09:04:06Z")
There isn’t any added substance on the wood sticks used for Popsicles® (yes, it’s capitalized); it’s bare wood. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/16 "2004-03-28T11:47:51Z")
There’s an older thread kinda like this with respect to [cotton wool](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=173884). Not that it came to any conclusions… just thought I’d mention it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/17 "2004-03-28T14:53:05Z")
I think the triggers are similar to the chalkboard/fingernail thing. The combo of stumuli just hits the nerves just so. Yes, I dream of plastic popsicle sticks, too. (I get the wilies from writing with a pencil, licking a popsicle stick, and just watching someone chew a napkin! GAG!) ---
**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:** [March 28, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/18 "2004-03-28T15:40:28Z")
> [@mdf](#): > > I think everyone has _something_ that has that effect on them. Popsicle sticks and toothpicks don’t bother me, but I just hate touching unfinished stoneware - my wife has some of this stuff, it’s sold through parties like Tupperware. (Someone will know the name - something gourmet.) They grate against each other when pulled out of the cabinet and it just sets my teeth on edge. She makes me put them away - seems to think it’s funny. > > first post as a charter member, and it’s about kitchenware… sigh > > -mdf Same here-just that rough texture of a clay pot or the inside of a porcelain piece that isn’t glazed…it just makes me squirm. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@SeaDour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDour)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/19 "2004-03-28T18:24:46Z")
Cecil covered something similar in the Stright Dope archives – specifically, [why nails on a chalkboard are so annoying](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_317b.html). One explanation offered was that the frequency range was similar to that of the warning cries of macaque monkeys, so our cringes could be primitive instinct. But, I can’t imagine how our reactions to rough textures could be explained by a similar basic instinct. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/20 "2004-03-28T18:39:30Z")
Yeah, wooden popsicle sticks weird me out too. But what really gives me the jeebers is if anything touches my forehead. It’s not so much any specific item or texture-- but as far as unusual tactile-related heebie-jeebie-inducers go, this is mine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837.md?page=2)