Sensory Illusions...
Jul. 15th, 2006 11:00 amLast Thursday I had some dental work done where they needed to numb up half my mouth. Next Thursday I have the other half done.
But this isn't about the dental work. This is about the popsicle I had Thursday night. Because half my mouth was numbed up, it could not sense cold. But the other half could. So my brain interpreted cold on half my mouth, and automatically mapped body temperature (normal temperature) onto the other half. So it felt like I had a popsicle that was cold on one half and warm on the other. A two-temperature popsicle!
BTW, I don't think warm popsicles will ever catch on.
But this isn't about the dental work. This is about the popsicle I had Thursday night. Because half my mouth was numbed up, it could not sense cold. But the other half could. So my brain interpreted cold on half my mouth, and automatically mapped body temperature (normal temperature) onto the other half. So it felt like I had a popsicle that was cold on one half and warm on the other. A two-temperature popsicle!
BTW, I don't think warm popsicles will ever catch on.