Will a Tongue Really Stick to a Metal Pole?
There are many things that winter brings each year.
Among them include unbearably cold temperatures, dangerous driving conditions, and a human tongue stuck to a frozen metal object.
Whether it's a kid who doesn't know any better or an adult who should know better, the "will my tongue really stick to this flagpole?" question seems to inevitably be asked each winter.
Sadly, each time the question is asked, by experimentation or just out of sheer curiosity, the resounding answer is a definitive yes.
Your tongue will definitely stick to the metal.
There's an easy explanation as to why this happens, then there's a more in-depth scientific explanation.
Let's start with the easy one first.
As everyone knows, the very definition of a freezing temperature is that it freezes water.
The water on your tongue freezes solid between the skin on your tongue and the freezing cold metal object, pretty much "gluing" the two objects together.
This will only happen when the temperature of the metal object is below the freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and the lower the temperature of the metal, the quicker your tongue will stick to it.
Your tongue isn't the only thing that will stick; if you have sweaty palms from a warm pair of gloves, your hand would also stick to the metal object.
Now for the scientific breakdown of why this only happens.
The key reason is the fact that metal has a high thermal conductivity.
Thermal conductivity is a measure of the ability of a substance to conduct heat.
The heat from your tongue is being transferred to the cold metal object faster than the blood circulating in your body can reheat the part of your tongue that is touching the cold metal object.
Thereby freezing the thin layer of saliva on your tongue almost immediately and sticking your tongue to the cold metal object.
Making the situation even more sticky is the fact that you have tons of bumps and grooves on your tongue, including valuable taste buds, where saliva likes to hide allowing more surface area of your tongue to be wet, and providing a larger area of your tongue to stick to something cold.
So, why is metal the only object that your tongue will freeze to? Well, it's not the ONLY object, but it is one of the highest thermal conductivity objects.
While your tongue will not stick to lower objects of conductivity like plastic or rubber, frozen objects like popsicles and ice cubes may cause a freezing suction to occur.
So, if you get yourself into an embarrassing situation where you would need to get your tongue unstuck, what is your best course of action? One's initial instinct would be to immediately just jerk your head away as fast as possible.
This would be the worst thing one could do, however, because you would very likely leave a portion of your top few layers of tongue on the metal object.
The best thing a frozen tongue victim can do is to have someone pour warm water over the affected area until the metal object and tongue are warmed up enough to be able to be pulled apart without leaving a mark on either of them.
When the frozen tongue is heated to about the same temperature, there is no more heat transfer and the conductivity suction point is defunct.
Of course, one way to avoid all of this anguish is to not get involved in such an experiment in the first place, or you could just watch, "A Christmas Story" for the 100th time.
Among them include unbearably cold temperatures, dangerous driving conditions, and a human tongue stuck to a frozen metal object.
Whether it's a kid who doesn't know any better or an adult who should know better, the "will my tongue really stick to this flagpole?" question seems to inevitably be asked each winter.
Sadly, each time the question is asked, by experimentation or just out of sheer curiosity, the resounding answer is a definitive yes.
Your tongue will definitely stick to the metal.
There's an easy explanation as to why this happens, then there's a more in-depth scientific explanation.
Let's start with the easy one first.
As everyone knows, the very definition of a freezing temperature is that it freezes water.
The water on your tongue freezes solid between the skin on your tongue and the freezing cold metal object, pretty much "gluing" the two objects together.
This will only happen when the temperature of the metal object is below the freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and the lower the temperature of the metal, the quicker your tongue will stick to it.
Your tongue isn't the only thing that will stick; if you have sweaty palms from a warm pair of gloves, your hand would also stick to the metal object.
Now for the scientific breakdown of why this only happens.
The key reason is the fact that metal has a high thermal conductivity.
Thermal conductivity is a measure of the ability of a substance to conduct heat.
The heat from your tongue is being transferred to the cold metal object faster than the blood circulating in your body can reheat the part of your tongue that is touching the cold metal object.
Thereby freezing the thin layer of saliva on your tongue almost immediately and sticking your tongue to the cold metal object.
Making the situation even more sticky is the fact that you have tons of bumps and grooves on your tongue, including valuable taste buds, where saliva likes to hide allowing more surface area of your tongue to be wet, and providing a larger area of your tongue to stick to something cold.
So, why is metal the only object that your tongue will freeze to? Well, it's not the ONLY object, but it is one of the highest thermal conductivity objects.
While your tongue will not stick to lower objects of conductivity like plastic or rubber, frozen objects like popsicles and ice cubes may cause a freezing suction to occur.
So, if you get yourself into an embarrassing situation where you would need to get your tongue unstuck, what is your best course of action? One's initial instinct would be to immediately just jerk your head away as fast as possible.
This would be the worst thing one could do, however, because you would very likely leave a portion of your top few layers of tongue on the metal object.
The best thing a frozen tongue victim can do is to have someone pour warm water over the affected area until the metal object and tongue are warmed up enough to be able to be pulled apart without leaving a mark on either of them.
When the frozen tongue is heated to about the same temperature, there is no more heat transfer and the conductivity suction point is defunct.
Of course, one way to avoid all of this anguish is to not get involved in such an experiment in the first place, or you could just watch, "A Christmas Story" for the 100th time.
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