1 00:00:00,750 --> 00:00:04,750 As we all know, your tongue is a muscular organ.. 2 00:00:04,750 --> 00:00:08,750 ..that helps you perceive the taste and texture of food.. 3 00:00:08,750 --> 00:00:11,750 ..assists you to create speech while talking.. 4 00:00:11,750 --> 00:00:17,750 ..and is vital for jump-starting the digestive process when you eat. 5 00:00:18,750 --> 00:00:23,750 Also, the tongue being extremely movable helps us eat. 6 00:00:23,750 --> 00:00:30,690 It enables us to turn solid food into a mash with the support of your teeth. 7 00:00:30,690 --> 00:00:37,450 And while the teeth grind the food, it gets mixed with saliva, also known as spit. 8 00:00:37,909 --> 00:00:43,990 This mixture of food and saliva then get pushed by your tongue to the back of the throat, 9 00:00:44,409 --> 00:00:49,969 where it goes down through your esophagus and into your stomach. 10 00:00:49,969 --> 00:00:54,689 Next comes an essential feature of your tongue 11 00:00:54,689 --> 00:00:56,630 That is tasting 12 00:00:56,630 --> 00:01:03,990 Most people mistake the rough bumpy structure on the surface of the tongue as taste buds 13 00:01:03,990 --> 00:01:07,069 But these are papillae 14 00:01:07,069 --> 00:01:13,909 And it's actually papillae that contains the taste buds that help you taste everything 15 00:01:13,909 --> 00:01:21,709 And you can detect the variety of flavors like sweet, bitter, sour and salty. 16 00:01:22,450 --> 00:01:28,530 But it won't be possible to enjoy these flavors without the amazing smelling powers of the nose. 17 00:01:28,989 --> 00:01:31,909 As taste and smell are interdependent. 18 00:01:33,549 --> 00:01:42,849 Also, some animals like frogs, chameleons and ant eaters have tongues that are designed to help them catch their prey. 19 00:01:42,849 --> 00:01:49,750 Their tongue is usually extra large and extends out of their mouth to grab insects. 20 00:01:50,310 --> 00:01:55,310 But the largest tongue among all animals is that of the blue whale. 21 00:01:55,950 --> 00:02:00,909 Their tongue weighs an average of 2.7 metric tons.