Some strange things are celebrated on social media among all the beautiful things humans can do. A new trend has begun to spread in which people demonstrate their “gleeking” abilities. Like a snake and its venom, this is where one shoots saliva from beneath their tongue.
The term “gleeking” is not a new phenomenon. Kids have been shooting saliva from their tongues for generations, but it only became a TikTok trend last year. This year, it has reappeared and is making its way through our ForYou pages, grossing out many people.
What exactly is “gleeking”? It is a skill that not everyone possesses, but anyone can learn how to do it. There are three major saliva glands among the thousands in your mouth.
The submandibular and sublingual glands, which are located beneath the tongue, are two. They are in charge of producing saliva to aid digestion while you eat. They do, however, occasionally expel saliva when pressure builds up in the gland.
Most of us do this unintentionally, which can be embarrassing. However, some people have honed their skills in the art of gleeking. They frequently demonstrate their abilities as a party trick, to varying degrees of success. According to TikTok trends, it is a rare ability that only 1% of the population possesses.
Dr. Aranov from Australia, on the other hand, believes that if we put our minds to it, we can all become gleeks. “Anyone can do it,” Dr. Aranov said. “We have saliva-producing glands directly beneath our tongue. They expel saliva through two small openings.” “There’s a way to train your tongue to squeeze those salivary glands and gleek,” he added.
Dr. Wolff, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, explained to Health some methods people could try if they want to learn gleeking on demand.
He suggested eating something sour because our saliva glands are activated when we eat. This increases our saliva production. Then, curl your tongue back inside your mouth until the bottom of it rests on the roof of your mouth, behind your top teeth.
“If you tense the muscles in the tongue correctly,” Dr. Wolff added. “It squeezes the duct, and the saliva squirts out.”
WikiHow has some gleeking tips and tricks for those who are determined to become gleeks. They claim that yawning is another way to stimulate the saliva glands in your mouth. “Yawn a couple of times to stimulate saliva,” they advise. They also recommend “eating a sour candy to trigger your salivary gland.”
They then advise drinking water. Because being hydrated allows for more saliva production. “Water is a great way to stimulate your salivary glands,” according to the website. “It also has the added benefit of being healthy!”
“Pucker your lips together and take a deep breath,” WikiHo says when it comes to gleeking. Purse your lips together to form a small circle. It’s extremely difficult to breathe and gleek simultaneously, so take a breather before attempting to gleek.
Breathe deeply and relax your shoulders. A deep breath will allow the salivary gland to produce enough spit to cover the bottom of your tongue.” They then explain the same curved tongue maneuver behind your teeth.
