# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/21 "2004-03-28T19:44:16Z")
> [@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 Is it Pampered Chef? I know the sound you’re talking about. It bothers me a little bit. Nails on a chalkboard don’t anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/22 "2004-03-28T22:02:39Z")
Y’all have reminded me of an old Peanuts® strip. It showed Lucy and Violet (I think) standing beside a fence with a balloon. Lucy is rubbing the balloon and making it squeak, and the two girls are discussing the fact that the sound really annoys some people. But they find that it doesn’t annoy them at all, so Lucy keeps rubbing the balloon. The last panel showed the other side of the fence. There was Snoopy, shaking, eyes wide and all his hair standing straight up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/23 "2004-03-29T01:41:05Z")
Is this the reason why Snow White and Pinocchio never got it on? ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/24 "2004-03-29T02:18:28Z")
Regarding the Popsicle stick phenomenon, I think it has to do with the tiny taste buds on our tongues catching on the equally tiny pores in the wood. It’s kind of like dragging them across sandpaper. And the dryness of the wood doesn’t help either. The sticks don’t bother me so much as those little wooden spoons you get with the little cups of ice cream. But, speaking of nails-on-chalkboard, that’s how flossing my teeth feels to me. Can’t stand it. But I do like the sound of unglazed pottery and such makes when rubbed together. I like crushing rotted cement or mortar just to hear the sound. I’ll even mash those little pumice bits in potting soil when I get the chance. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/25 "2004-03-29T02:22:43Z")
Not only do I not dislike touching wooden objects such as popsicle sticks, but they are one of my favorite things to chew on. What I _hate_ (in fact, just thinking of it right now is causing me to shiver and goosebump) is the sound/feeling of sharp metal on paper, like when trying to erase something with a pencil whose eraser has come off, and there’s nothing left but the little circle of metal used to hold it on. ---
**Author:** ![EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilHamsterOnCrack)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837/26 "2004-03-29T02:24:38Z")
Maybe it’s only me, but I don’t have any problems with popsicle sticks, or any other wooden eating utensils. What I do have a problem with though, while we’re on the topic, is forks scratching plates. (Plates made out of that glass-ish material that plates are made out of.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-a-popsicle-stick/236837.md?page=1)