Book 9, Question 45
Why Is Your Tongue Covered in Tiny Bumps?
Your tongue is covered in tiny bumps called papillae, pah-PILL-ee! Some help grip food, and some hold taste buds. So your tongue is both a grabber and a taster.
More fun facts
- The walls and grooves of your tongue's bumps hold thousands of taste buds, too tiny to see with your eyes.
- A cat's tongue is covered in sharp, curved papillae that make it feel like sandpaper.
- A cat's papillae have hollow, scoop shaped tips that carry saliva deep into its fur.
- Cats spend up to a quarter of their waking hours grooming their fur.
- About 2 to 3 percent of adults have a 'geographic tongue,' with bare red patches that look like islands on a map.
- On a geographic tongue, the patches slowly move around as papillae grow back in some spots and vanish in others.
Sources: Science News Explores, BBC, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
Can I see my taste buds?
Not really. You can see the bumps, but the taste buds inside them are too small.