Why does Toothpaste make everything else taste wierd after you brush your teeth?
Because it contains menthol, just like breath mints. Next!
Menthol?
Toothpaste is composed mainly of soap and/or detergent mixed with powdered chalk (a mild abrasive) made into a slurry with water.
The flavoring used is normally double rectified oil of peppermint, which is the only thing strong enough to cover up the soap taste, and sweetened with saccharine.
When you brush your teeth it's pretty much pegging all the meters in the nerves in your tongue and overloading your taste buds with extreme stimulation. It takes them a little while to recover afterwards. Rinsing your mouth out with water after you brush your teeth will help this along.
Also, 3get! Thread necromancy! zoomj!
> The flavoring used is normally double rectified oil of peppermint
Which is much the same thing, except more expensive. I'm pretty sure most toothpastes go for cheap synthesised menthol.
>>4
So, there's basically two different reasons why stuff tastes strange after brushing your teeth, depending on the toothpaste used?
This makes me wonder if there are any differences in strange aftertaste...
No, it's the same one. Menthol can be extracted from mint plants, although it is more commonly synthesised. It basically overwhelms and numbs your taste buds, as >>3 says.
Your mouth feels "fresh" after using toothpaste because your taste is not working right, and because menthol triggers the cold receptors.
I've never noticed anything tasting weird after I brush my teeth. Maybe my tongue isn't that sensetive.
Here's a similar question: why does milk taste ridiculously bitter after you've had grapefruit?
Same reason you see a nice black box on your wall after looking at your bright monitor for a long time.
For me, I see all sorts of colors... no black box. (and NO! i'm not high...)
>>9 u're a fuckard.
>>10 impresses with his grasp of grammar and rapier wit.
>>9 It's normal. Different people see different things, like when they rub their eyes closed. Some see colorless, others see colored light. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphene