Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with spit

How can I stop salivating while using teeth whitening strips?

ShootTheMoon — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:34:51 -0800

How can I stop salivating while using teeth whitening strips? Started using crest whitening strips today. I am supposed to keep them in for 30 minutes twice a day. The problem is, I cannot stop salivating. The spit gathers in the bottom of my mouth, and messes up the bottom whitening strip. Are there any tricks out there to stop salivating for an hour? Can I just stuff some cotton under my tongue? Alternately, is it safe to just swallow the saliva?

The Spitter End

angiewriter — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:46:32 -0800

My adult son and my boyfriend refuse to ever send anything back in a restaurant because they claim the kitchen staff (in ANY restaurant, fast food or otherwise, ANYWHERE) will spit in it or do something equally disgusting to the food. I have always called bullshit on this one, but they are adamant. For those of you who have worked in kitchens or in other food service positions, have you seen this happen a lot? A couple of times? Ever?

For those of you who receive something that you didn't order/isn't cooked to your liking, etc., do you hesitate to return it to the kitchen because you're afraid of what the kitchen staff will do to it?

the secret ingredient is...

Solon and Thanks — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:22:29 -0800

Servers spitting in food: fact or fiction? I've never heard a first-person account of it, and having worked in (non-food) service industries I know that employees are much less nefarious than paranoid customers think we are. Food-spit usually seems like the scary camp-fire story of restaurant discussions. Still, I have to wonder about the pervasiveness of this idea.

Google results are contradictorily and suggest both that this often happens/is a total myth. I suspect it's on the rare side but does happen. How common is it really?

I am not interested in personal views on the goodness/badness of customers, spit, restaurants, servers, butter eaters, tipping, germs, rumors, whatever. Just wondering if anyone has been a witness to food-tampering behavior, and if so how much.

Salivafilter: Why do i keep having to swallow spit?

freddymetz — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:30:50 -0800

Salivafilter: Why do i keep having to swallow spit? This mostly happens when im lying in bed at night trying to fall asleep and when the dentist is doing something with my teeth.
Probably because im distracted in most other situations.

In these two situations i find myself having to gather saliva from under my tongue and swallowing it down. This turns into a vicious circle where i cant stop swallowing. I doubt its a serious medical problem, its just quite a nuiscance at times, and im scared i might do something stupid when i have my wisdom teeth removed next week.

What kids' book has someone collecting spit in a bottle?

Addlepated — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 20:47:23 -0800

What children's book had one of the main characters, a boy, collect his spit in a bottle? It seems to me that at some point he tripped on the stairs and broke the bottle. I remember being utterly grossed out by this. I seem to recall it being a sort of a dramatic book, rather than light. As a side note, there may have been a bully in the book who was obsessed with airplanes, and possibly a brother and a sister who were obsessed with kingfishers, although it's entirely possible I'm describing three separate books.

The definitive spit-roast whole pig.

ninazer0 — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 18:43:20 -0800

I need helpful hints for spit-roasting a whole pig. I consider myself a pretty good cook but have never attempted anything like this before. I know about the basics (roasting time for weight etc) but would like to know if anyone has any hints they'd like to share to make this a success.

For example, I have the option of hiring either a gas or charcoal rig. Which is better? Flavour is my main concern here, not ease of use. Do I bone out the hog and part-stuff it, or leave it as is? Do I baste as it roasts or leave it alone for crackling?

Ideally, I'd like a piggy at the end that can be laid on the table with an apple in the mouth as a centrepiece for a party. Help!

Out, demons! (Spitting tips requested.)

rio — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 13:21:21 -0800

To all men and women who spit: help! Warning, this is a bit unappetizing... I have lately been waking up with what feels like a huge lump of phlegm in the back of my throat, and I can't manage to get it out. It persists throughout most of the day, receding a little bit by the time I fall asleep, only to return again the next morning. I'm not sick, not stuffed up (although I do have a bit of sneezing in the morning due to minor allergies). I try to do that clearing-the-throat-and-spitting thing that I see and hear men do all the time, but I just can't seem to do it myself. When I try, either I gag, or it just won't budge. I tried taking a bunch of expectorant to see if that would loosen it up, but it didn't work. So, I was wondering: have you experienced such yuckyness and if so, what caused it? And more importantly, how can I successfully get it out? Spitting tips requested!

What's with the spitting in the urinal?

soundslikeobiwan — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:18:40 -0800

Spitting in the urinal, what's that about? Why do so many guys feel the need to spit first, before urinating? It's not like I work in a slaughterhouse or a bar, either -- I work next to programmers and share an office floor/bathroom with mortgage brokers. At least once a day I see or hear somebody working up the old hack-twoey in front of the urinal. Some just lean forward and "politely" drop a mouthful of spit before they do their business. What the hell is the point?

Why do people spit in public?

grumblebee — Sun, 21 Dec 2003 15:04:36 -0800

Why do people spit -- especially in public? I'd be really interested in hearing from someone who spits as to why he/she does it. It seems to be a class thing, and I'm too upper-middle class to get it. I never feel the desire to spit. But is this desire natural, and has my class training has just repressed it in me? If I could understand it, maybe I wouldn't be so disgusted by it.