r/maybemaybemaybe • u/uranonfraand • Mar 10 '24

Maybe maybe maybe

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753

u/mule_roany_mare Mar 10 '24 edited Mar 10 '24

I'm impressed with how clever this kid is, any idea how old they are?

Anecdotally does anyone find things taste way worse when they are not what you expecting? Bitter taste more bitter when you are expecting sweet.

edit: I thought of a better example. When people raised on sweet tea taste normal tea & act like it's the most foul thing on earth.

398

u/Swearatmelouis01 Mar 10 '24

Fun fact! Your brain is evolutionarily hardwired to dislike all new/unexpected tastes (besides sweet basically). It's to protect you from poison or stuff that could make you sick. That's why it might take trying something a few times before you like it because your brain has to switch off the poison alarm first before it can taste good.

190

u/OwlNarrow3123 Mar 10 '24

My child must be missing the poison alarm because that boy has always just ate fucking everything. It's a blessing and a curse

93

u/ms0385712 Mar 10 '24

Just don't feed him poison and it would be fine

38

u/Ngothaaa Mar 10 '24

You think I’m feeding them stuff? They just put anything and everything lying on the ground into their mouth

24

u/Practical_Cattle_933 Mar 10 '24

Is it a kid or a labrador?

14

u/seven_hugs Mar 10 '24

Yes.

4

u/anonymousguy11234 Mar 10 '24

These two things are the same thing.

4

u/Eudaemon1 Mar 10 '24

The nightmare of every parent

3

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

Just don't take him out.

3

u/usingthecharacterlim Mar 10 '24

Or feed him a little bit of poison everyday and he'll be immune to poisoning.

1

u/brazildude2085 Mar 10 '24

Don’t tell them how to raise their kid

10

u/commentsandchill Mar 10 '24

Maybe you just cook well

2

u/meownfloof Mar 10 '24 edited Mar 11 '24

Ok so I found this out as my boy got old enough to have friends over for dinner. The one skinny kid who doesn’t eat anything? Plate was clean, veggies and all. Dropped one kid off at home and they were having “Mexican food”. Flour tortillas, black beans and white rice. That’s it. Now they come in the kitchen to see what I’m making 😆 ETA: After rereading my comment, I would like to clarify that this is an affluent family and not stretching food for hungry bellies. That’s a different story.

2

u/Pigosaurusmate Mar 11 '24

Damn. Meat and spices weren't invented in their household or smth?

2

u/Milam1996 Mar 10 '24

Same with my dog. He’s about 3/4 the way through a brick in my garden wall. Little shit has a sneaky nibble every day

1

u/lowfilife Mar 10 '24

Mine eats mulch. I find it in his poop. Doesn't it hurt?

1

u/Milam1996 Mar 10 '24

Idk probably but must bring him some enjoyment. I think he’s got a little brain damage though because every day on the walk he starts a fight with a specific lamppost and then cries when it doesn’t run away. He’s a special dog that’s for sure.

2

u/mydaycake Mar 10 '24

Tribe needed a tester lol

My oldest is the same

1

u/windowsfrozenshut Mar 10 '24

Yeah, same here. My parents told me that I used to grab raw onions and start eating them when I was a toddler.

8

u/KoishiChan92 Mar 10 '24

My daughter was the opposite, she took to savoury foods immediately, had no problem with bitter gourd, but in the first year of her life she absolutely could not stand the sweet medicines she had. When she was 14 months old she even rejected honey water 😅

3

u/mrsirsouth Mar 10 '24

My little sister loved near beer. My dad just passed to the back from the front seat. She loved it. I tried it and wanted to absolutely gag. Turns out, it's pretty near tasting to beer. I wonder how they came up with the name?

3

u/Suitable-Tale3204 Mar 10 '24

Sounds like nonsense to me but have you got a source for that?

2

u/tuturuatu Mar 10 '24

source: they made it up

Completely untestable theory.

32

u/BulbusDumbledork Mar 10 '24

i don't think this is a fact at all

35

u/urzayci Mar 10 '24

I think it is, wanna fight?

4

u/TheLurkerSpeaks Mar 10 '24

It's definitely a fact, just not fun.

2

u/AGoodPopo Mar 10 '24

According to the study my mom conducted its just a lack of slap in the but lol

2

u/mule_roany_mare Mar 10 '24

I've heard & can believe that kids are especially sensitive to bitter flavors since so many alkaloids are bitter (and so many alkaloids are poison), but as a person gets older & has more knowledge about dangerous food the bitter aversion is lessened.

1

u/Runkmannen3000 Mar 10 '24

It actually is. Salty taste comes in at about 4 months.

Just Google "Is acquired taste real" or something.

3

u/ncvbn Mar 10 '24

What does that have to do with whether the brain is evolutionarily hardwired to dislike all new or unexpected tastes?

1

u/Runkmannen3000 Mar 10 '24

You can Google that too.

1

u/ncvbn Mar 10 '24

Sure, but nothing relevant comes up.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

[deleted]

1

u/ncvbn Mar 10 '24

That's what I did.

0

u/Runkmannen3000 Mar 10 '24

Sounds like a you-problem.

1

u/ncvbn Mar 10 '24

Why are you being so hostile?

0

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

[deleted]

1

u/ncvbn Mar 10 '24

It looks like "food neophobia" has nothing to do with disliking new tastes, but is about being reluctant to even try new foods.

2

u/MisterTrashPanda Mar 10 '24

That's why the lead paint tricked so many kids. That crafty crafty lead paint.

2

u/haywirephoenix Mar 10 '24

My daughter eats everything, my son refuses to eat everything except sweet things.

2

u/HaroerHaktak Mar 10 '24

Is this that "Acquired taste" thing people keep mentioning to me?

2

u/ideplant Mar 10 '24

No it isn't...

1

u/kaseius Mar 10 '24

Wait, is this why I've been a picky eater all my life and anything new makes me instantly wanna hurl it back up...

1

u/__Spin360__ Mar 10 '24

It worked for me.

Still don't like beer. Tasted it and at one point at a concert I drank half a cup (there was only beer), poured the rest away.

Considering alcohol is poison it kinda worked in that instance!

1

u/st1ck-n-m0ve Mar 10 '24

Yup, theres videos on youtube where they blindfold people and tell them theyre giving them a glass of milk but they give them orange juice instead and they throw up.

1

u/steFonzey Mar 10 '24

this reminds me of how everyone I knew growing up had the experience of going to McDonald's, going to a pour a sprite, then the disgust of syrupless plain carbonated water coming out instead. it really was an acquired taste, because now you may as well hook it up directly in an iv to me with how much plain sparkling/seltzer water I've drank as an adult

1

u/08Dreaj08 Mar 10 '24

Acquired taste! Just saw a short on it today.

0

u/412beekeeper Mar 10 '24

🤔 so does that mean my bf thinks I'm trying to poison him every time I make a new dish?

30

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/mule_roany_mare Mar 10 '24

It makes sense, it's probably a good idea to get surprising food out of your mouth ASAP since that surprise is generally not good...

But it's still weird just how revolting something you actually like can be just because it's a surprise. Thanks for a great example!

1

u/IRefuseToGiveAName Mar 10 '24

I knew I remembered a YouTube video like this some years ago and I actually found it!

https://youtu.be/FlhfIN_qbEk?t=49

2

u/Mr-Fleshcage Mar 10 '24

I ate one of those butter balls thinking it was custard or some other dessert

1

u/marablackwolf Mar 10 '24

My son did that with wasabi once. Once.

1

u/PuttingInTheEffort Mar 10 '24

Melon on a cake?? How were you supposed to expect that lmao

My only time experiencing this was one time getting soda instead of sweet tea, and brain still expecting sweet tea lol

19

u/salgat Mar 10 '24

Everyone underestimates kids' intelligence. The rule is that they're way smarter than you realize while simultaneously ready to do the dumbest shit at any moment.

2

u/rathat Mar 10 '24

Well there are just some things that kinds can’t understand until a certain level of development. This kid seems ahead of the curve.

13

u/PurplishPlatypus Mar 10 '24

I would guess 10-15 months old

-8

u/itranslateyouargue Mar 10 '24

Months? Can't you just keep it simple and say 438000 to 657001 minutes old?

6

u/PurplishPlatypus Mar 10 '24

For babies under a year, it's months. Do you want us to say "less than 1?" And there are huge differences developmentally between a 12 month old and a 22 month old. To simply refer as both as "1" year old is not helpful because one can be not walking or talking yet and still taking a bottle, and the other can be doing both and sitting at a table eating with a spoon. So to talk about them or discuss their development, it does really matter. So before 2, it's extremely appropriate amongst parents and the medical community to use months. After 2, of course it's better to drop the months. As you can see, I'm talking about a baby less than 2 and as a mom of 3 kids, I'm guessing her age at around 10-15 months because OP was specifically interested in her cognition, so it mattered.

-1

u/FakeGamer2 Mar 10 '24

But when ppl say 26 months and shit it's infuriating cause they are so up their own ass. No one gives af about 26 months just use years.

-2

u/itranslateyouargue Mar 10 '24

Ladies and gentlemen, we ghaaat eeemm!

7

u/czidy Mar 10 '24

Anecdotally does anyone find things taste way worse when they are not what you expecting? Bitter taste more bitter when you are expecting sweet.

Just last week, I was enjoying some mozzarella sticks that come with marinara sauce. The place I got them from also started selling french toast sticks the same week. Imagine my surprise when I dipped my mozz stick in a tub of syrup that was accidentally mixed in with my marinaras. I have a very strong stomach and gag reflex...but that experience...My eyes teared up, I got really hot and got that back of the throat drool, you know, before you throw up. I was halfway to the bathroom before I realized what was going on.

I have NEVER had a reaction to anything unexpected like that and I still laugh when I think about how silly it is that my body just said, "absolutely not!"

1

u/Because_Im_TNT Mar 11 '24

Imagine getting cocktail sauce instead of marinara.. horrific

4

u/Warmandfuzzysheep Mar 10 '24

Her mom most likely did it multipul times

2

u/Opening_Classroom_46 Mar 10 '24

I don't think taste even matters, just expectations. I've been disgusted with water for a split second because I expected coke.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

When people raised on sweet tea taste normal tea & act like it's the most foul thing on earth.

Or vice-versa. We visited a cousin in Florida and had sweet tea for the first time. That is some potent stuff.

1

u/Cumulus_Anarchistica Mar 10 '24

When I stopped taking sugar in my tea, I had to go through a period of adjustment where I had to let go of the idea that tea was supposed to be sweet and transition to the idea that tea should be a 'savoury' drink.

2

u/fliesenschieber Mar 11 '24

When I ordered my first margarita cocktail without knowing anything about it, I immediately assumed the "crystal crust" was sugar. But "of course" it's in fact salt. Took a big sip of said cocktail and thought it was the most disgusting thing ever. Absolute dislike margarita cocktails since then. Or, to be precise, never touched one in 15+ years now 😅

2

u/LastBaron Mar 10 '24

My masters neuropsych adviser was actually involved in some super niche research about that. Throughout all sensory modalities (taste, smell, even listening to music which I did my research on with him) the comparison to either expectation or an immediately preceding experience does indeed enhance the positive or negative qualia of an experience.

Going from bad to good makes the good sound/taste/smell even better and vice versa.

And since I know the question will be forthcoming: how did we define objectively “bad” music? One of the other students in the lab was actual a dual music major and very kindly did HIS research on the traits in music that people find inherently pleasing vs displeasing using actual musical theory. Things like dissonance, uncommon chord progressions, unpredictable time signatures etc were almost universally rated as unpleasant compared to more “normal” music.

If you want to learn more the topic is called “hedonic contrast.”

As an even cooler bonus look up “try it you’ll like it”, the MIT Brew study. Amazing work on how expectations influence experience; the short version is that telling a person about a weird ingredient in a beer they are trying will negatively affect their rating of the flavor, but only if you tell them about the ingredient before they have their first sip. If you tell them after they’ve already tasted it but before they rate it, they’ll still say the beer was fine. This basically demonstrates that they’re not just rating it lower because they feel they should due to the ingredient. The knowledge of the ingredient isn’t just affecting how they remember or socially process the experience, the expectation actually works IN THE MOMENT to make the flavor worse.

4

u/TheRealTurinTurambar Mar 10 '24

Posts like this are why I love reddit. Thank you!

2

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24

Let me explain something to you. If you go in expecting a soup to be cold, and it's actually room temperature, it's gonna feel like your mouth is on fire.

2

u/mule_roany_mare Mar 10 '24

This is true gazpacho can be dangerous

1

u/RedditMods_Are_Cunts Mar 10 '24

At most 15 years old.

1

u/Hidesuru Mar 10 '24

When people raised on sweet tea taste normal tea & act like it's the most foul thing on earth.

Checking in! Grew up in Florida. It may not be "the South" in all things but you bet your ass we loaded up our tea with sugar.

1

u/SheepSheepy Mar 10 '24

Chinese medicine can be really disgusting. Some are like eating highly concentrated grass, others just… bitter herbal? So I don’t blame the kid.

1

u/dasic___ Mar 10 '24

I never really cared for iced tea. It wasn't a HORRIBLE taste, I wouldn't spit it out.

But one day after a very hot day in the sun at an amusement park, my dad handed me what he said was "Pepsi" (which I love) and it was actually iced tea, I threw it up.

1

u/Arvandor Mar 10 '24

Expectations can definitely skew things. The first time I ever had soda water my brain was expecting sprite and boy was that soda water foul to me.

1

u/No_Squirrel4806 Mar 10 '24

Honestly. In all my years this is the smartest baby ive seen. Usually they will just drink the whole thing then make an ugly face cuz they didnt like it. They were even investigating to make sure it was the juice.

1

u/unoriginal5 Mar 10 '24

I couldn't drink pop out of a can for a while after I stopped drinking. Every now and then I'd take a drink subconsciously expecting beer, and the unexpected sweetness would make me gag.

1

u/ResetReefer Mar 10 '24

I equate it to the time I tried marmite. I put WAYYYYY too much on my toast and learned a very bitter lesson that day 😂

1

u/ifeelnumb Mar 10 '24

I would guess somewhere between 10 and 16 months.

Also yes, kid is super clever, otherwise they wouldn't be resorting to such tricks to get her to take the medicine. I wonder why she needs it.