Licensed Professional Geologist here, and licking is a totally valid method for distinguishing between mineral hand samples that have very similar properties otherwise. For instance, halite (NaCl, aka table salt) and sylvite (KCl) are isomorphous, which means they have the exact same crystal structure and are very difficult to distinguish using traditional methods. Halite tastes like salt, but sylvite makes your tongue tingle when licked. Our mineralogy professor told is it’s the only reliable way to differentiate the two without actual chemistry analysis.
I like KCl, it makes my food taste better when I replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the NaCl in a recipe with KCl (in addition to adding the remaining amount of NaCl)
Licensed Professional Geologist here, and licking is a totally valid method for distinguishing between mineral hand samples that have very similar properties otherwise. For instance, halite (NaCl, aka table salt) and sylvite (KCl) are isomorphous, which means they have the exact same crystal structure and are very difficult to distinguish using traditional methods. Halite tastes like salt, but sylvite makes your tongue tingle when licked. Our mineralogy professor told is it’s the only reliable way to differentiate the two without actual chemistry analysis.
Pick rocks and lick rocks. The way of the hound.
Licking is a chemical analysis, albeit a crude one
I wouldn’t call a chemical touch sensor optimized by eons of evolution to differentiate molecules from one another crude.
In some ways it’s no more crude than looking at it, right?
I like KCl, it makes my food taste better when I replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the NaCl in a recipe with KCl (in addition to adding the remaining amount of NaCl)
What does kcl taste like
It’s at the grocery often sold under brand name NuSalt in the USA.
A much stronger, almost metallic, bitey salt when tasted alone
On food or mixed with NaCl the undesirable taste/feel is not noticed and it tastes like a tastier salt. Flavour enhanced
Couldn’t you use a Geiger counter to detect the KCl sample? It should be detectably more radioactive than the NaCl sample
Jan Zalasiewicz? Is that you?