• Question: What makes out tongue stick to ice when we lick it?

    Asked by lisaloo to Claire, Kate, Matt, Rob, Sam on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Kate Husband

      Kate Husband answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Your tongue will stick to anything really cold because the moisture on your tongue freezes. With ice the heat from our tongue will slowly melt the moisture on our tongue and we become unstuck but for things like really cold metal I think it can become a serious issue trying to get unstuck!

    • Photo: Claire Lee

      Claire Lee answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      🙂

    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      When you go ice-skating, the ice actually melts a bit under the pressure of your skates, which is why you can slide on it; you make a thin layer of water as you skate along. But yes, if it’s really cold then like Kate says, the moisture on your tongue will freeze and glue your tongue to the ice!

    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      Yes, and it’s not just the moisture on your tongue that freezes – but the moisture INSIDE your tongue! The very outer cells get colder and colder and freeze, which is why you get attached – ouch! The newly frozen tiny ice crystals are rough and catch on each other between where you end and the ice block starts 🙂 Usually if you’re eating an ice lolly it warms up again very quickly – but don’t lick anything really cold for too long!!

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