Why Is Earwax So Bitter? - Straight Dope Message Board

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Factual Questions Surreal April 6, 2004, 3:11pm 1 What causes the taste of earwax to be so bitter? Obviously there is some bitter-tasting compound present in the earwax that causes this, but is the bitterness just a coincidence, or did human evolution somehow preferentially select for bitter earwax??Thanks. BrotherCadfael April 6, 2004, 3:37pm 2 I don’t know about you, but I certainly have no idea how earwax tastes, nor have I any interest in finding out! Eternal April 6, 2004, 3:42pm 3

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have no idea how earwax tastes, nor have I any interest in finding out!

Don’t be a baby.Anyway I don’t think earwax taste is a thing that is likely to be selected for. I mean, why would it be? BTW cats seem to love it. Fuji_Kitakyusho April 6, 2004, 3:43pm 4

What causes the taste of earwax to be so bitter? Obviously there is some bitter-tasting compound present in the earwax that causes this, but is the bitterness just a coincidence, or did human evolution somehow preferentially select for bitter earwax??

Thanks.

You’re not supposed to eat it.That said, whatever it’s made of, I highly doubt that its bitterness was a driving force in the evolution of the ear system. peasea April 6, 2004, 4:06pm 5 Perhaps most bugs dislike earwax because of its taste/smell/texture. At least, I hope so. DougC April 6, 2004, 4:15pm 6

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have no idea how earwax tastes, nor have I any interest in finding out!

- Side story: the ex of a guy at work bought their 4-yr old son a box of jelly beans one day, and the kid kept spitting out just about every other one. When dad wondered why and looked at the box he found that it was the Harry Potter jellybeans, with a few regular flavors you’d expect as well as new yummy ones like earwax, vomit, boogers and dirt. -I didn’t get suckerred into eating any but apparently they do taste like what they’re named. ~

lieu April 6, 2004, 4:52pm 7 If you can taste earwax, you probably should move a little further away from the person you’re addressing. TellMeI_mNotCrazy April 6, 2004, 5:30pm 8

- - Side story: the ex of a guy at work bought their 4-yr old son a box of jelly beans one day, and the kid kept spitting out just about every other one. When dad wondered why and looked at the box he found that it was the Harry Potter jellybeans, with a few regular flavors you’d expect as well as new yummy ones like earwax, vomit, boogers and dirt. -I didn’t get suckerred into eating any but apparently they do taste like what they’re named. ~

Ahh yes, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.I, at the delighted insistence of my darling children, have tried them. All of them.They do indeed taste like the things they claim to be (well, I can’t vouch for the earwax, because that is something I’ve ever tasted). (Although, the pepper ones, I rather enjoyed). Little monsters squealed everytime I pulled a face. Little_Brother_1 April 6, 2004, 5:48pm 9

Don’t be a baby.

Anyway I don’t think earwax taste is a thing that is likely to be selected for. I mean, why would it be? BTW cats seem to love it.

– I don’t know the answer, but I’ve wondered about this too. Perhaps a deeper question is what “earwax” is, exactly. It only remotely resembles actual wax, by which I suppose I mean beeswax. I suppose it’s some sort of glandular secretion that somehow protects the delicate ear canal. But why? Especially since it gets all crusty and cloggy, etc. ad nauseam. Does it provide some useful waterproofing capacity as well?– In any case, Brother Cadfael is taking his vow of chastity way too seriously.P.S.: Your earwax, or the cat’s own earwax? Cervaise April 6, 2004, 6:09pm 10 Earwax is bitter so vegemite tastes good by comparison.IMO.

Qadgop_the_Mercotan April 6, 2004, 6:23pm 11

Perhaps most bugs dislike earwax because of its taste/smell/texture. At least, I hope so.

You nailed it, peasea.Otherwise, the ears would make lovely nesting places for vermin! Bippy_the_Beardless April 6, 2004, 6:27pm 12 Yes Eternal do your cats like your earwax or their own earwax? Quadgop do people suffer from vermin if the lack the ability to create ear wax? What sort of vermin, do you know a source of scary pictures of the sorts of creatures that would be living in our ears if it weren’t for the bitterness of our earwax? kinoons April 6, 2004, 6:44pm 13 My cats seem to love eating my earwax. One morning I awoke to find a cat (one of mine, of course) sitting on the pillow next to me, licking inside my ear to get to the wax…silly cat… lieu April 6, 2004, 6:51pm 14 Your cat’s breath smells like earwax?Also, does earwax make for good candles? Squink April 6, 2004, 7:15pm 15

You nailed it, peasea.

And here I thought that the sweet earwax gene was selected against in early man when people having the gene spent so much time poking sticks in their ears and licking off the sweet goo that they abraded their ear canals and died of horrible infections. fervour April 6, 2004, 7:41pm 16 I found my cats liked earwax too. I first discovered this years ago with a curious cat. She came over and gave me a what-are-you-doing look. So I showed her the wax from my ears, and to my surprise she gobbled it down then.Since then, it’s been like an experiment for me. I meet a new cat and offer it earwax. A few times, the cat’s have been like “eww that’s gross”, but I usually continue to offer ( sorta like “try it–go ahead just try it”). They usually do and give me “WOW! this stuff is great! Where’d you get it” sort of behaviour. The vast majority of cats need no prompting at all.(I have nothing to add about the OP. Sorry) ThatGuy April 6, 2004, 7:46pm 17 Those of you who claim to not know that earwax tastes like…be sure to try the bertie botts earwax flavor, it tastes exactly like that:) While most of those “bad” flavors are horrid, i actually LIKE the dirt flavor…probably to do with eating so much dirt as a kid…ok i’m hijacking, sorry. Back to the topic at hand. Guinastasia April 6, 2004, 7:54pm 18 An icky question-how much ear wax is too much? Because the insides of my ears get REALLY itchy, to the point I have to scratch-and then I get an entire q-tip coated with the stuff.I tried the Debrox or whatever once, but that just made it worse. Any advice other than having my ears flushed every so often? alaricthegoth April 6, 2004, 8:05pm 19 I didn’t know it was bitter… BobLibDem April 6, 2004, 8:22pm 20 Can’t vouch for the taste, BUT earwax is fun to play with. Next time you get a good sized bit of earwax, don’t throw it away! Put in on a flat surface and gently roll it with your fingers. Keep rolling. You’ll find that you can make an incredibly thin and long string of wax by rolling it. I’ve made earwax strings about 3 inches before they break upnext page → Related topics