Tongue-tastic Facts

The tongue may not be one of the hardest working muscles in the body but strengthening it may still be useful. It’s a muscular organ in the mouth, made up of groups of muscles and very much like the heart, it is always working. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about your tongue: 

• The average tongue is about 3 inches long.
• According to the Guinness World Records, the current title of World's Longest Tongue belongs to an American named Nick Stoeberl, whose tongue measures 3.97 inches (10.1 cm).
• You would be forgiven for thinking that you sense different tastes in different parts of the tongue – but this is not the case.  
• If you get fat, so does your tongue!
• The average adult’s tongue has between 2,000 to 4,000 taste buds in total.
• Taste buds not visible to the human eye.
• It’s true that most taste buds can be found on your tongue, but you have taste cells elsewhere too.
• The tongue is all muscle but not just the one muscle. It’s actually made up of 8 different muscles.
• Every tongue is unique, and much like your fingerprint, it’s a reliable way to positively identify someone.
• Your tongue tells you a lot about your overall health