TikTok trend sees men dipping their balls in soya sauce to find out if they can taste it

Thanks to a resurfaced article on Twitter and the mighty, absurdist nature of TikTok, men are dabbing soya sauce on their scrotums just to find out if they can taste the saltiness through their testicles. 

Gotta love 2020. 

Much like how Marie Curie exposed herself to radiation and Benjamin Franklin flew a kite near thunder clouds, it’s all done in the name of science. In a new viral trend on social media (that’s a helluva lot safer than munching on Tide Pods), TikTok users are recording themselves testing a theory about testicles having taste receptors. 

@alxjames

oh.. my god..... ??

♬ original sound - alxjames

But what exactly prompted these brave lads to embark on such a ballsy expedition? The origin can be traced back to 2013, when the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia published a study on the relationship between taste receptors and fertility in mice. In it, researchers uncovered that taste receptors can be found in multiple parts of the body apart from the tongue. This would include cells in our intestines, brain cells, the lining of our nasal cavities, our bladder, and yeah, testicles too. 

The takeaway fact — not to mention the one that makes headlines — is that testicles have the ability to taste things, according to a Business Insider report. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/mightbecursed/status/1216469964367912960[/embed]

Daily Mail ran the story too and doubled down on the nutty angle: that testicles have taste buds which can detect the savoury taste of umami, which is in soya sauce. TikTok user Regan (@cryinginthecar) came across the article and made a call out for men to dangle their dangly bits into the salty condiment. 

@cryinginthecar

please I need to know

♬ original sound - cryinginthecar

And lo, they obliged. 

@matthewlush

alxjames WHAT THE F #SoySauce #taste #tastechallenge #calvinklein

♬ original sound - matthewlush

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvSr6aPevgU[/embed]

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puzMXxvYeRg[/embed]

Though the experiment might have yielded mixed results (and a lot of laughs), the science says that no, you can’t actually taste anything that you plop your family jewels on. Taste receptors in the testicles aren’t really for tasting because there aren’t even cranial nerves connected to your gonads. And since the receptors are actually in the testicles, splashing soya sauce onto scrotums won’t do anything much except make your balls weirdly salty for the rest of the day.  

@prescriber

Skinny dipping #react to cryinginthecar #todaywelearned #doctor #wellnesstips

♬ original sound - cryinginthecar

Those convinced that they can relish umami through their bro-varies might not have actually tasted anything — 80 per cent of what we taste comes from what we smell, anyway. 

Trust me, it really doesn’t work. Please don’t ask me how I know. 

I mean, if we were really able to savour flavours through our bean bags, by that logic we’d able to taste things in our butt too, because, yes, there is a cluster of taste receptors sitting inside our anuses. 

ilyas@asiaone.com