In the United States, there is a woman who possesses the rare ability of “synesthesia”. When she sees certain words, she can taste their flavors. For example, her boyfriend’s name tastes like paper to her.
According to the UK’s “Daily Star”, 30-year-old Sarah Gann, who resides in Arkansas, works as an elementary school teacher. Due to her innate talent of synesthesia, whenever she sees, hears, or speaks certain words, her taste buds get stimulated, allowing her to taste the flavors associated with those words.
For instance, when she hears the word “blue”, she tastes chocolate; if she says “concrete”, she tastes a cookie dipped in milk; and the word “teacher” makes her taste Skittles candy.
She mentioned that even names have flavors. For instance, her boyfriend’s surname “Clayton” tastes like paper. However, her own name and the names of her two children do not have flavors.
She explained that she cannot physically taste the flavors of these words, but she can vividly imagine the taste in her mouth. Not every word is pleasant to her. For example, while the word “clock” tastes like milk to her, since she dislikes milk, it’s not a favorable word for her.
She added that when she utters a word and others repeat the same word to her, the taste of the word gets stronger. And when she sees a word written down while simultaneously hearing it spoken, she is most likely to taste its flavor.
She said, “When I was younger, I used to feel very strange because nobody around me had synesthesia. But now I find it fascinating. It’s definitely a topic of conversation with people. They always want to know what their names taste like.”
She revealed that words with discernible tastes always have the same flavor each time, and the words she tastes most frequently are nouns rather than verbs. She also shared that she has tried many names. Her favorite name is “Brandon”, which tastes like a chocolate bar.
In a previous report by Dajiyuan, it was mentioned that British man James Wannerton also possesses synesthesia. When he hears a certain sound, he can taste the flavor associated with that sound.
Wannerton has been able to taste the flavors of sounds since childhood. Whenever he hears a sound, flavors involuntarily appear on his tongue.
This ability has its advantages in daily life. For example, he decides whether or not to make friends based on the flavors associated with people’s names, making his social relationships quite “delicious”.
He said that every time he goes out to work, it’s like going for a big meal, and his route is like a menu, remembering every turn on the way. If he senses the flavor is off, he knows he took the wrong path.
He jokingly mentioned that he prefers his mom over his dad because his dad tastes like processed peas while his mom tastes like ice cream, with a better flavor.