# Why does a 9V batter make my tongue go Yowza! but nothing else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636 "2005-01-31T18:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/21 "2005-02-03T02:05:18Z")
Noooooo! –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/22 "2005-02-03T05:23:38Z")
> [@Fat Marrow](#): > > The sailor took a probe in each hand to measure his bodily resistance from thumb to thumb. But the probes had sharp tips, and in his excitement he pressed his thumbs hard enough against the probes to break the skin. Once the salty conducting fluid known as blood was available, the current from the multimeter travelled right across the sailor’s heart, disrupting the electrical regulation of his heartbeat. He died before he could record his Ohms." Oh god, I’ve done that! Not with that type of voltimeter before, of course, but I’f definitely tried to measure my body’s resistance from thumb to thumb. ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/23 "2005-02-03T06:23:00Z")
Would using a meter across your tongue produce a tingle similar to that of a 9volt battery? My initial guess is no, as the voltage must be significantly lower…? ---
**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:** [February 3, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/24 "2005-02-03T14:11:41Z")
I have completed the testing with the Simpson 260 meter. The meter certification is good till April 5, 2005. I checked the 2 batteries, one D size and one 9 volt, both Energizer Industrial brand batteries. The D size read 1.484 volts DC on a Fluke 770 Digital multimeter. That is sufficient for the meter. The 9 volt only read 7.832 volts DC. It was replaced with a fresh battery which supplied 9.310 volts DC. My first test, just for safety’s sake, was to measure any output from the Simpson with the Fluke. The Fluke read 8.877 volts DC with the Simpson set in the RX10,000 ohm range. In the RX1 and RX100 ranges, the Simpson output was 1.409 volts DC. This means the Simpson uses the D size battery for the lower resistance reading and the 9 volt for the higher resistance readings. I set the meter on the RX10,000 ohm range and held a lead by the probe in each hand. I felt nothing. Not wanting to purposely injure myself, I decided to skip the part about puncturing myself with the probes and wetted thumbs and forefingers instead. I felt a very slight tingling feeling. I then took one probe in each hand and touched the sides of my tongue about ½ inch from the tip. I felt a slight tingling on the left side but the right side really tingled. I attributed that to the fact the right side probe was applied last and the point of the probe, being fairly sharp, caused the current to flow through a very small patch of tongue. I then pressed the side of each probe against my tongue and felt tingling not unlike a 9 volt battery. Oh, by the way, my tongue read about 35k ohms. How many folks would put their lives on the line, risk personal injury, for the good of the SDMB? I am proud to say I have. And I would have to believe the story about the sailor is not true. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/25 "2005-02-03T14:18:04Z")
**racer72** , thank you for your devotion to the SDMB and for your continuing efforts towards Fighting Ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/26 "2005-02-03T14:41:21Z")
I think we should hire both \*\*racer72 \*\* & \*\*js\_africanus \*\* for testing for the Straight Dope. And I woul dbe one who has never put their mouth on any kind of battery. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/27 "2005-02-03T14:59:45Z")
As an adolescent in the persuit of knowledge I did the 9 volt on the tounge trick. Then one step further involving my braces. One terminal to the top wire and one to the bottom wire. Holy shit did that hurt. I saw a burst of white light and the back of my jaw ached for the rest of the day. Kids DO NOT try that at home. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/28 "2005-02-03T17:06:09Z")
Recipe for Tongue Yowza: Ingredients:[ul][li]Flour[_]Water[_]Tongue[\*]EMF[/ul][/li]Make a 9V batter with flour, water and EMF. Carefully add tongue. Jump back. Yowza! 🙂 Turning now to sports, a 9V batter was thrown out of the game without much resistance when he sparked a fight with short… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/29 "2005-02-03T17:16:41Z")
This thread reminds me of a funny incident when I was about 11 or 12 years old. My dad had a camera flash (the old magnesium-oxygen bulb sort) which used a 22 1/2 V battery to fire it. This battery fascinated me, and I brought it to school one day to show it off. I showed them how, if you licked your thumb and forefinger and pressed them onto the terminals, you could feel the strong tingle. One kid apparently knew the 9 V tongue trick, because he took the battery, licked his lips and pressed them down onto the battery terminals - and screamed like a little girl. Heh. Nobody else tried _that_, I tell you. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/30 "2005-02-03T19:36:58Z")
Okay, so the tongue is covered with mucus (sp?) membrane rather than skin? Or just thin skin? I couldn’t get that through my thick skull. Thanks for the great answers, btw, and the reckless tests for the advancement of knowledge! > [@Musicat](#): > > Recipe for Tongue Yowza: > > Ingredients:[ul][li]Flour[_]Water[_]Tongue[\*]EMF[/ul][/li]Make a 9V batter with flour, water and EMF. Carefully add tongue. Jump back. Yowza! 🙂 And it taste better than the Tongue Wowza, which involves Icy Hot® and Listerine®. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/31 "2005-02-03T21:46:43Z")
This thread suggests that we all keep the knowledge of tasty batteries from our children. Hey, why do batteries taste like they do? I know nothing about electricity, but I always figured the current was electrolyzing something substance on my tongue and leaving a flavorful byproduct. (Electricity tastes salty to me, which would make sense.) But that’s just a WAG. Anyone have a better answer? –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/32 "2005-02-04T02:42:43Z")
Nobody else thinks that + and - have different flavors? I always found the negative pole to have a somewhat subtle sweeter flavor, as opposed to the sour salty frazzle of the positive pole. ---
**Author:** ![Fridgemagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@Fridgemagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fridgemagnet)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/33 "2005-02-04T12:31:59Z")
The saliva on your tongue is a lovely salty electrolyte, and when you put 2 electrodes on it and introduce a voltage (such as licking a PP3 battery) then different dissolved ions will be attracted to the appropriate electrode. For example, take salt - sodium chloride. In solution it splits up into a positively charged sodium ion, and a negatively charged chorine ion. The chlorine will be attracted to the battery’s positive terminal (anode), while the sodium will be attracted to the negative electrode (cathode). So, in this case, the different taste of the 2 electrodes is the difference between a chloriney taste and a sodiumy taste. This, of course, is a gross over-simplification, but you get the general idea… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/34 "2005-02-04T12:51:12Z")
I’ll take a WAG that it’s on account of applying stimulation to the taste receptors on the tongue, which bemusedly report “sensation” that the brain can only interpret as taste. Try the edges of the tongue and the middle as well as the tip, and report your findings. (You probably can’t get a battery or an electric probe to the “bitter” receptors at the back of the tongue without gagging.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/35 "2005-02-04T13:55:14Z")
Has anyone tried pan-frying it? ---
**Author:** ![dlack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlack)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636/36 "2005-02-04T14:13:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Has anyone tried pan-frying it? The battery or the tongue? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9v-batter-make-my-tongue-go-yowza-but-nothing-else/287636.md?page=1)