>> Rachel: Hey there! Welcome back to Chompers, your morning and night toothbrushing show.
It’s Snack Week and tonight we’re going to TREAT you to the answer from this morning’s quiz
But first, start brushing on the top of your mouth on one side, and brush the inside, outside and chewing side of each tooth.
>> Kids: 3, 2, 1 Brush!
>> Rachel: Inside your mouth is your tongue. And on your tongue you have little pink bumps. And on those little pink bumps are called TASTE BUDS. Taste buds help you TASTE all things yummy you put in your tummy. And that’s what today’s quiz is all about.
Here’s the question again: How many taste buds does the average human tongue have?
More than 20 taste buds
(SFX short slurp)
>> Rachel: More than 200 taste buds
(SFX medium slurp)
>> Rachel: More than 2,000 taste buds
(SFX long sluuuurp)
>> Rachel: Switch your brushing to the other side of the top of your mouth, and get the molars all the way in the back.
Ready for the answer? It’s probably on the tip of your tongue.
(SFX Rimshot)
>> Rachel: The answer is…..more than 2,000 taste buds! (WOW) Yeah buddy. That’s a lot of taste buds.
But some people have EVEN MORE -- People with more than a normal number of taste buds are called supertasters. and they can taste snacks super well.
(SFX VICTORY/SLURP)
>> Rachel: Switch to the bottom of your mouth, and brush your front teeth too.
Your tongue isn't the only part of your body that helps you taste your favorite foods. Your NOSE is like your tongue’s partner, and helps tell your brain exactly what you are tasting. Have you ever noticed that when you have a stuffy nose,
(SFX SNIFF SNIFF)
>> Rachel: -food doesn't taste as good? That’s because your nose can’t send any information to your brain about what you’re tasting. Without your nose, your brain only gets half the picture!
Switch to the other side of the bottom of your mouth, but don’t brush too hard.
Here’s a real tasty fact about your taste buds - you grow new taste buds every two weeks!
But …. As you get older, the number of taste buds you have goes down … so grown-ups have fewer taste buds than kids. Once again, kids rule, grown-ups drool!
(SAD TROMBONE)
>> Rachel: That’s it for Chompers tonight, but we’ll be snack at it tomorrow.
(RIMSHOT)
>> Rachel: Until next time…
>>Kids: 3 2 1 Spit!