Why Your Own Spit Disgusts You 🤢

Summary

• People normally swallow about a liter of saliva each day without feeling disgusted.
• The brain’s disgust response is influenced by where substances have been. Saliva inside the mouth is in its usual place, so it generally does not trigger disgust.
• Once spat out, saliva is exposed to the surrounding environment, where it may encounter germs or other contaminants.
• Because disgust helps protect us from swallowing things that might cause illness, the same saliva can seem repulsive outside the mouth.

Speaker

• One unidentified narrator.