The science of onion tears: why some cry and others don't when chopping
By
New Scientist
Summary
A humorous Feedback column from New Scientist exploring the science behind why chopping onions makes people cry, focusing on a research study about "subjective individual variability in onion tearing and its relationship to chemosensory sensitivity." The piece blends scientific curiosity with witty commentary on the chemical reactions (syn-propanethial-S-oxide) that cause eye irritation, individual differences in sensitivity, and potential remedies.
Source
Twitter / XThe science of onion tears: why some cry and others don't when choppingnewscientist.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledFeedback could never be a professional chef. That's partly because there is no way we could stand the pressure of such a frantic work environment, to say nothing of the stress of potentially running into Gordon Ramsay. But mostly it's because we would tear up every time we had to chop an onion.
The reason some of us cry when we chop onions is a chemical c
Feedback isn't sure what to make of a ground-breaking piece of research into the understudied topic of 'subjective individual variability in onion tearing and its relationship to chemosensory sensitivity'
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