Woman who can taste words says boyfriend's name is "like paper"
Sarah Gann is part of 4% of the global population that have this condition.
Synesthesia is defined by Scientific American as "an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colours, feel sounds and taste shapes."
It's not every day that someone tells you that your name tastes like chocolate or cheese.
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While only a few people in the world suffer from this condition, there are some famous names like Billie Eilish who have it.
An American woman called Sarah Gann recently did an interview where she explained more about her condition and the tastes she experiences.
She never realised there was something different about her senses growing up and thought everyone experienced words and tastes like she did.
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She shared that she has been tasting words ever since she can remember, and she was only diagnosed with this neurological condition when she realised it wasn't a common thing for people to experience.
Synesthesia has various ways of presenting itself, and in Sarah's case, it works through speaking and tasting.
I have always tasted words, but when I brought it up to a friend in middle school, she didn't understand it. I can't physically taste the words but I can clearly imagine the taste in my mouth. I used to feel super weird about it when I was younger because nobody else had synesthesia - but now I find it pretty fun.
Here are some words and the tastes she connects to them:
- Church - powdered doughnut
- Ball - nacho cheese
- Icing - Pink
- School - Butterscotch
- Clock - milk
- Concrete - Cookies dipped in milk
Gann has embraced her condition and says that it's a nice icebreaker because people will ask her what their name tastes like.
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She explains that 'clay' tastes like clay, but her partner's surname 'Clayton' tastes like paper.
The only names not affected by her synesthesia are the names of her two children and her own name.
She does have a favourite word.
Her favourite word is Brandon because it has a sugary taste "like a chocolate candy bar".
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Main image courtesy of iStock/Deagreez