Tidbit #17 - April 12, 2011

Anyone up for some Starbucks? I always get a Tall Strawberries n' Cream Frappucino. Mmmm... Milkshakes. But why is it a Tall size if it's so small?

Question: Why is tall coffee the small size?


Answer: This one was tougher to search up than I thought. I found what seems to be the right answer, though:

Originally, most coffeeshops only had two sizes: short and tall, based on not only the amount of drink they held, but by their height. (hence, short and tall) Eventually, as supply and demand grew, so did the drink sizes, and what was once the largest size (tall) became the shortest size, and the name just stuck. You can still order it as a "short" size and you'll get the same size, but isn't it sad how demand has grown like that?

So, as a condensed answer, we have:

Tall coffee is the small size because, due to increasing demand for more drink, the large (tall) became the small, and the name stuck.

Tidbit #8 - April 3, 2011

Food can be one of the most pleasurable aspects of our day. And why? Because we all like the taste. There are entire reality shows (Top Chef, anyone?) based on food and its taste. But not everyone who tastes food knows how we taste it.


Question: How do we taste food?


Answer: If you know anything about the nervous system, then you should know that it's based on nerves. Your senses are caused by nerves, particularly specially made neurotransmitters. Your sense of taste is caused by (what else?) your tongue.

On the surface of your tongue are relatively 9000 different sensory receptors (called taste receptors) that pick up taste, also called taste buds. Different areas of the tongue correspond to different tastes, as shown in the diagram to the left. Speaking definitively, every taste bud on your tongue picks up the different chemicals in the food you eat and sends electrical signals through the neurons to the taste processing center of the brain, causing your food's taste.

By the way, all of those regions on the tongue diagram above which correspond to those tastes send more intense signals to the brain when the food you eat has chemicals that taste that way. (Basically, they taste stronger in those areas of the tongue)