Chewing gum that zaps your tongue with electricity keeps the flavour going forever.
The pain-free device is called “unlimited electric gum”. It uses the piezoelectric effect – a phenomenon where some materials produce electric charge when squeezed. When the “gum” is chewed, it produces a small current, which tricks the tongue into experiencing different tastes.
It currently produces a salty or bitter taste. But the hope is to extend that, since other research has shown that, by varying the pattern and strength of electric charge, it is possible to induce all five of the basic tastes our mouths pick up: bitter, salty, sour, sweet and umami.
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At an event in Japan earlier this year, 80 people tried the gum. Almost everyone reported experiencing salty or bitter tastes. Some said chewing it was a bit like chewing niboshi, which are small dried infant sardines used in snacks and seasonings in Japan.
The gum consists of a piezoelectric element and electrodes, wrapped in a thin plastic film. It’s a couple of centimetres wide, like a standard stick of gum. Unlike real chewing gum, the electric version will continue to stimulate the taste buds for as long as it is chewed – and it won’t break down into a sticky glob.
Naoshi Ooba at Meiji University in Japan and his colleagues created the device, and demonstrated it at the in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.
This is the latest in a line of taste-related gadgets devised by researchers. These include a digital lollipop that people can lick to get different tastes, and a virtual lemonade that uses electrodes to trick someone into thinking that water is actually the fruit-flavoured drink.
Ooba and his team plan to add other flavours to the electric gum, and want to eventually create a product that people can buy.
