• From open-eyed sneezing to whatever the hell gleeking is, we count twelve things most
humans can’t do!
Are you an exception?
12 – Eat a Spoonful of Cinnamon, • Ground cinnamon may be a tasty baking
addition, but it’s impossible to eat on its own for most people.
Attempting to do so will likely burn the inside of your throat and send you into a violent
coughing fit.
• Cinnamon is actually the raw form of tree bark that has been ground into dust.
It’s insoluble in water, so it’s not surprising that humans have such an intensely negative
reaction to it.
• There are countless online videos of people trying to conquer the ‘cinnamon challenge’,
where a spoonful of the powder is ingested.
Those people are all dead now, so unless you’re in the minority of people who can safely swallow
it, I wouldn’t try it.
11 – Tongue Tricks, • Can you split or roll your tongue, perform
a reverse T, flip your tongue 180 degrees or make shapes like a spaceship or clover
leaf?
These strange manipulations of our most malleable organ are a pretty neat party trick.
I’m sure Tony Hawk did them before picking up his first skateboard.
• These all require muscle control and tongue dexterity.
Some claim that they’re genetic traits, though this is heavily debated.
Approximately seventy-five percent of the population can roll their tongues, but genetics
isn’t the only factor, as some case studies show children who can manipulate their tongues
born from parents who couldn’t.
• Whatever the mysterious origin of these tricks is, they’re quite impressive.
Only the hardcore should attempt them, though, as they come with pretty serious risk of tongue
cramping. 10 – Wiggling Your Ears,
• Are you in the minority of people who can wiggle their ears?
Some can do it, but only in conjunction with raising their eyebrows, which is a good way
to make everyone think you’re constipated.
• According to a 2006 ear-wiggling study, the mechanism behind ear movements is surprisingly
sophisticated.
Unlike most other facial muscles, ear muscles have their own accessory nucleus in the brainstem.
This is basically the control area for muscle function.
Compared to bats and cats, this nucleus is tiny in humans, which is why most of us find
controlling our ears such a challenge.
• But those who weren’t blessed with natural ear-wiggling talents shouldn’t despair!
With practice, it’s possible to train yourself to do it.
Isolate your ear-wiggling muscles and in no time you’ll become the next ear-wiggling
YouTube sensation.
9 – Touching Your Nose with Your Tongue, • Ever tried touching your nose or chin
with your tongue?
Many have and it’s a lot harder than you’d think.
• It’s thought that only ten percent of the population can perform this act, which
is known as Gorlin sign in the medical world.
In some instances it can indicate connective tissue disorder, but if you can do it put
it on all your resumés and dating profiles.
You are one highly sought-after human being.
• Gene Simmons of KISS had no trouble with this trick, which led to rumours he’d had
a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own.
In truth, Mother Nature had just endowed him with a super long tongue and he did what anyone
would do: leveraged it to become an international rock star.
8 – Fist in Mouth, • People who can fit their entire fist into
their mouths are a rare anomaly.
For most, it’s a near impossible feat.
• The majority of the population can only get half or barely a quarter of their fist
into their mouths.
Seriously, they’ve done studies on this stuff.
Successfully fitting your entire fist in your mouth usually requires both a large mouth
and small hands.
Yep, like a T-Rex.
• Although this trick has a slightly sexual connotation, babies are the ones who attempt
it the most – usually when teething or discovering their body parts for the first time.
• If you aren’t confident you can pull this off, it’s best not to try.
Getting your fist stuck in your mouth is kind of frowned upon by the staff at your local
emergency room.
But if many people have told you you’re annoying or that you talk too much then you
should probably learn how to do this.
Go on.
Start practicing.
7 – Open-Eyed Sneezing, • You know that crazy sensation you feel
when you’re about to sneeze?
It’s like a particle cannon charging in your nose, preparing to obliterate everything
in its path, and always seems to come about when you’re somewhere quiet or crowded,
like a library or crowded train carriage.
• Have you ever noticed that the overwhelming majority of humans sneeze with their eyes
closed?
Try it yourself.
It’s nearly impossible to launch a spread-fire of mucus with your eyes open.
• One popular schoolyard theory is this is to prevent your eyes from popping out – which
actually happened in one astonishing 1882 case.
This phenomenon is called eyeball subluxing.
• Most experts believe our eyes clamp shut during a sneeze because of an involuntary
reflex sent from the ‘sneeze centre’ of our brains.
This may be the body’s way of preventing germs from entering the eye.
Thanks, brain!
You’re always looking out for us.
6 – Nose Twitching, • Although this is on the more common side,
not everyone has the ability to twitch or wiggle their nose like the iconic character
Samantha did every time she appeared on screen in Bewitched.
• Some people have trouble flaring their nostrils for the same reason.
However, as with several items on this list, it’s something that can be learned.
Worth doing, too, as it’s a pretty endearing little trick.
I mean, it looks cute when rabbits do it.
• Speaking of Bewitched, here’s some fun trivia: Elizabeth Montgomery, the actress
who played Samantha, got so sick of fans asking her to twitch her nose that she refused to
do it once the series had ended.
I think she still has nightmares about being chased by giant twitching noses.
5 – Auto-Fellatio, • Auto-Fellatio is the shameful act of a
man performing oral sex on himself.
It’s something many men have contemplated since the first time they saw a dog lick its
own privates and cynics would say it’s the real reason men practice yoga.
• According to sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, two to three out of every thousand men have
the flexibility to perform this act.
The number that have injured their backs trying is unknown.
• According to a popular myth, alternative rocker Marilyn Manson had his lower vertebrae
removed so he could perform auto-fellatio.
Err, hardcore … 4 – Tickle Yourself,
• We all have ticklish spots that friends and loved ones love to zero in on.
Being tickled makes us laugh, squirm and sometimes pee a little.
And if you’re anything like me it makes you reflexively punch and kick anyone within
reach.
• Being tickled is one of the most vulnerable states we can find ourselves in, but, unfortunately,
you’re out of luck if you want to have a good clean solo tickle session.
On paper it might sound easy to do, but in practice it’s near impossible to genuinely
tickle yourself to the point of laughter because you will always brace for the touch.
• This is because of an area at the back of the brain called the cerebellum.
The cerebellum plays a role in monitoring movements and studies have shown that it can
predict sensations caused by your own movements but not someone else’s.
• Unless there is a disconnect between you and your subconscious mind, your touch will
always be anticipated.
3 – Raise One Eyebrow, • Raising your eyebrows suggestively or
in bewilderment is one awesome life skill.
Virtually everyone can raise both eyebrows, but only a portion of the population can raise
one at a time – that is, without moving the other at all.
• Those with the power to manipulate a single brow can usually only do it with one of our
two eyebrows.
However, with practice you can build up the connection between your nerves and muscles
and be cocking eyebrows with the best of them.
• It’s believed raising your eyebrows is an evolutionary trait, as mandrills, baboons
and capuchin monkeys raise their eyebrows as a threat gesture.
2 – Lick Your Elbow, • Your tongue and your elbow are tragic
lovers who desperately want to be together, but can’t because their disapproving parents
– your mouth and arm – won’t let them.
• It’s just about impossible for most people to lick their elbows.
Try it now.
Make sure you’re alone, though, or you may be committed.
• Apparently there are techniques that can be learnt to get around this, but most require
you to have been blessed with a particularly short upper arm or an abnormally long tongue.
• Guinness World Records staff receive five claims a day from people who think they’re
special because they can lick their elbows.
For most people, though, elbows and saliva are destined never to meet.
1 – Gleeking, • Gleeking is the hottest new trend.
All the kids are doing it.
It’s better than twerking and planking; even better than the moonwalk.
Gleeking is the term for when you project saliva from the submandibular gland after
compressing it with your tongue.
This means you stimulate the saliva glands under your tongue to spit a concentrated jet
of saliva.
Yes, like a camel.
• Sometimes this happens by accident when you yawn, or when you’re being operated
on at the dentist.
But doing it deliberately – and at will – is a skill very few possess.
It requires dedication and tongue dexterity.
Some say gleeking is easier to do after sweet or tangy candy.
• If you think the word ‘gleek’ is some newfangled internet term, it may interest
you to learn that it appeared in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A character named Bottom says ‘Nay, I can gleek upon occasion.’
Of course, it meant something entirely different there, but Shakespeare’s still down with
the kids.