Poll: Can you roll your tongue?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: Can you roll your tongue? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=281)

[dilg]

Are you serious? I thought everyone could roll theirs.

[coumerelli]

Both my wife and i can roll our tongues, but something she can do that I can't is flip it over (upside down). Crazy people! ;)

[jrv3034]

Yep, ever since elementary school. And I can also flip it upside-down. Freaked out my classmates!:D

[bennetsaysargh]

here's the daily, "why isn't there a option for?" maybe?

[Mr. Anderson]

interesting link on the info....I can roll my tongue and my wife can't....

And in this case there isn't a maybe - you can or you can't ;)

D

[bennetsaysargh]

well,i think it'spossible to partially do it, so i think that that's in the middle of the choices:p

[Mr.Hey]

:D

I use my rolled tongue to sip the rest of the soy-bean milk that I didn't get with my spoon...yummy yummy!

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
well,i think it'spossible to partially do it, so i think that that's in the middle of the choices:p

Is this what you can do, or do you know someone who can only do it a bit....

But what do you mean about partially? That you can bend it? I can roll it into a tube and blow air down the middle....

D

[tazo]

i don't think I can...I have seen the looks my friend gets from girls when he does his 'look i can write an essay with my tongue' look ;)

[usersince86]

No biggie, but I can whistle after rolling my tongue (i.e. I can whistle with my tongue in that rolled-up position).

I have met only one other person who shares this *odd* trait... and only a few who care!

:D

[Chealion]

Yes, yes I can. These polls get funnier by the day :)

[Raid]

I can roll my tongue, but that's nothing compared to a girl I dated. She could do this 'four-leafed-clover' thing with hers. It was very bizarre, but strangely alluring... ;)

Raid

[ibjoshua]

of course. and sideways left and right.

i_b_joshua

[Sonofhaig]

.....but I don't do it often because it tends to speed up and get away from me.

[helmsc]

wtf does the have to do with computer stuff? This is more rediculous than the debate about a 2 button mouse from Apple :p

[TheFish]

man, macpolls is really out of ideas. well i cant roll my tounge, i cant even wistle. well some times i can on a good day. i have an idea for the next poll, do a poll on how many people stil use os9 im cruious. and if not that, how many people have webbed toes.

[granex]

Well, this is an odd poll. The categories aren't quite complete either, since there should be a category for rolling the tongue up (fairly common) or backward (much more rare).

I'm a geneticist, so this is a chance to educate. You can read a little more about this in the Online Mendelian Inheritence in Man:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?189300

[pbooktebo]

So far, the results are consistent with the average for the population (around 70% can, as this is a dominant genetic trait).

I couldn't find many interesting links, but here's one:
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C004/029.html

Hey, no tongue-rolling smilie? :(

[edenwaith]

What next? Can our new iMacs roll their disc drives? Hmmm...

I can roll my tongue and even learned how to go cross-eyed.

The side article is kind of interesting. My brother used to not be able to roll his tongue, but he 'trained' himself to be able to do it by using his hands and over time, he was able to do it naturally.

[tpjunkie]

I can roll my tongue, flip it over, and do the 4 leaf clover thing...which at first glance may not seem like its got much use....


but think about it ;)

[baby duck monge]

i can do the clover thing, but not the regular rolling. oh well...

[bograt]

I am not the worlds greatest biologist but I do pretty damn well and it is absolute rubbish to even suggest having a maybe on the can you do it or not! This is no time for being a fool, it is genetics and for this characteristic it is a straightforward case of yes or no - there is no in-between, the clover thing is a different case - I'm not sure what people are talking about but I think I've seen it - anyone care to send in a specemin?

[wdw_]

Originally posted by tpjunkie
I can roll my tongue, flip it over, and do the 4 leaf clover thing...
Same here. I can also make my tounge go up and down faster than anybody I know. It allows me to do really funny voices and that thing that they say only middle-eastern women do. You know, where they yell "lalalalala...". It might not sound that special, but somehow my voice does something that I can't explain. it's like my voice jumps up and down an octave in the course of one "la". It's really freaky.:p

[Phil Of Mac]

What is the four-leaf clover thing?

Perhaps there are more tongue-rollers because it provides an evolutionary advantage. I'll let you figure out the rest.

[Centris 650]

I can't do it. My wife can and my 2 year old son can. He'll be playing and stick his tongue out and roll it but when I try (and fail) he just laughs at me. No respect, even from my son!

:p See even the smiley can't do it. ;)

[j33pd0g]

No tongue rolling here. I also can't tie stuff into a knot. I had a girlfriend once that could tie a cherry stem into a knot. I think her cherry stem tying is something I'll always miss.

[MacFan25]

I can roll it and flip it over part of the way! :D

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Perhaps there are more tongue-rollers because it provides an evolutionary advantage.See tazo's previous post for the evidence. He said "I have seen the looks my friend gets from girls when he does his 'look i can write an essay with my tongue' look". So there's ironclad proof that tongue-rollers have the advantage when finding mates.

[Jerry Spoon]

Running out of poll ideas?;)

[pimentoLoaf]

:confused:

Are Scandinavians more likely to mate with earwax-laden Northern Englanders if they can roll their tongues, or is it only with non-tongue rolling Iranians?

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by bograt
...it is genetics and for this characteristic it is a straightforward case of yes or no ...

Well, actually, the preponderance of data seems to suggest that it isn't genetic. So, there could be "I'm still learning - so, sort of". However, in principle, I'd agree that this is properly a yes or no question. Either you can or you can't. If you're still learning, then the answer is no.



P.S. I can roll my tongue, and I can tie cherry stems into knots...

[eyelikeart]

I cannot roll it...but...

I can do this wicked trick with it that gets the ladies everytime... :D ;)

[iLilana]

Originally posted by wdw_
Same here. I can also make my tounge go up and down faster than anybody I know. It allows me to do really funny voices and that thing that they say only middle-eastern women do. You know, where they yell "lalalalala...". It might not sound that special, but somehow my voice does something that I can't explain. it's like my voice jumps up and down an octave in the course of one "la". It's really freaky.:p

I want to marry you:p

[Lyle]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
I can roll my tongue and my wife can't...Don't fret. With some practice on her part (and patience on yours), your wife may some day be able to roll your tongue.

[MrMacMan]

Yes.


To bring a more important question:

Oh my God, why was this even a question?

I find it troubling when we get *very* far away from the Mac Topics...


How about of
'what was your favorite rumor that never made it'
1) iWalk
2) Video iPods
3) Mac Os X on PC
4) (Original) PowerMac G5

Something...

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
Are Scandinavians more likely to mate with earwax-laden Northern Englanders if they can roll their tongues, or is it only with non-tongue rolling Iranians?I expect to see exactly that as tomorrow's poll question. Unless it is "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

[wdlove]

No, no I can't roll my tongue! My wife can't either!

[The Grimace]

...also chew gum and walk, pat my head and rub my belly (and vice versa), wiggle my ears, lift one eyebrow at a time, do the Moonwalk, and any number of other stupid human tricks.

'Course, being A.D.D., these were survival skills in school...

(tig)

[scem0]

Hell yeah! I can do a lot with my tongue....

ok this post is quickly getting sexual. ;)

scem0

[Chilton]

My Grandmother, an English teacher, used to tell us very sadly that because she and my Grandfather did not inherit this gene, that their kids could not do this. Then my Uncle, her son, one day showed me that he could. I asked him how he could do that, and he said it wasn't anymore genetic than the ability to raise an eyebrow (I can only raise one, for some reason). He claimed that once you understood how the underlying muscles were laid out, and worked, you could do just about anything with them. He could flip his eyelids over, make a 'w' with his tongue, roll it sideways left, right, and roll it inverted (so the gap is on the bottom), wiggle his nose, ears, and wave his eyebrows around like some kind of circus monkey. He worked at NIMH, where he did a lot of research on human muscular coordination.

It is my humble opinion that 'genetics' is used as a scapegoat by many medical researchers, as well as those who write books.

-Chilton

[Doctor Q]

Using a Macintosh is genetic. Here's my scientific proof: Everyone in my family uses one. Macs have a small market share so it is extremely unlikely to be a coincidence. Many neighbors are PC users so our Mac usage is not caused by our environment. Therefore, it's genetic!

[scem0]

Originally posted by Chilton
My Grandmother, an English teacher, used to tell us very sadly that because she and my Grandfather did not inherit this gene, that their kids could not do this. Then my Uncle, her son, one day showed me that he could. I asked him how he could do that, and he said it wasn't anymore genetic than the ability to raise an eyebrow (I can only raise one, for some reason). He claimed that once you understood how the underlying muscles were laid out, and worked, you could do just about anything with them. He could flip his eyelids over, make a 'w' with his tongue, roll it sideways left, right, and roll it inverted (so the gap is on the bottom), wiggle his nose, ears, and wave his eyebrows around like some kind of circus monkey. He worked at NIMH, where he did a lot of research on human muscular coordination.

It is my humble opinion that 'genetics' is used as a scapegoat by many medical researchers, as well as those who write books.

-Chilton

Couldn't it just have been a recessive gene that didn't show up on either of his parents?

scem0

[Phil Of Mac]

If it's recessive, then why is it that most people can roll their tongues?

[baby duck monge]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
Using a Macintosh is genetic. Here's my scientific proof: Everyone in my family uses one. Macs have a small market share so it is extremely unlikely to be a coincidence. Many neighbors are PC users so our Mac usage is not caused by our environment. Therefore, it's genetic!

hahaha! that's great! sadly, though, things with that shoddy of evidence are sometimes passed off (or at least someone tries to pass them off) as truth.

about the cherry stem thing, though. i can do that. it's kinda fun. not strictly a tongue thing, though. also involves a little bit of teeth. may want to be careful is asking a girlie for a special demonstration of that sort of thing...

[SiliconAddict]

Naaa the real question is can you tie a knot in a cherry stem while sing living la vita loca. :D

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by scem0
Couldn't it just have been a recessive gene that didn't show up on either of his parents?

scem0

But, aside from the number of people that can do this, all researchers have asserted that it is a dominant trait. So, one of his parents had to be able to do it, if it was genetic.

Oh, here's another one. Did you know that fertility is genetic? If your grandfather didn't have any kids, then your father probably didn't either, and neither will you, probably. (This is a quote from a college biology paper.)

:p

[bennetsaysargh]

Originally posted by Snowy_River


Oh, here's another one. Did you know that fertility is genetic? If your grandfather didn't have any kids, then your father probably didn't either, and neither will you, probably. (This is a quote from a college biology paper.)

:p

lol:p it may be true! but if your grandfather didnt have any kids, and your father didnt have any kids...
haha!
who's college paper was that?

[ibjoshua]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
If it's recessive, then why is it that most people can roll their tongues?

if dwarvism is dominant why aren't there more dwarves?

i_b_joshua

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by Lyle
Don't fret. With some practice on her part (and patience on yours), your wife may some day be able to roll your tongue.
Btw, what's the best way to tone-up your tongue??
:rolleyes:

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by Chilton
My Grandmother, an English teacher, used to tell us very sadly that because she and my Grandfather did not inherit this gene, that their kids could not do this. Then my Uncle, her son, one day showed me that he could. I asked him how he could do that, and he said it wasn't anymore genetic than the ability to raise an eyebrow (I can only raise one, for some reason). He claimed that once you understood how the underlying muscles were laid out, and worked, you could do just about anything with them. He could flip his eyelids over, make a 'w' with his tongue, roll it sideways left, right, and roll it inverted (so the gap is on the bottom), wiggle his nose, ears, and wave his eyebrows around like some kind of circus monkey. He worked at NIMH, where he did a lot of research on human muscular coordination.

It is my humble opinion that 'genetics' is used as a scapegoat by many medical researchers, as well as those who write books.

-Chilton
Is your uncle 'The Mask'??

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by i_b_joshua
if dwarvism is dominant why aren't there more dwarves?

i_b_joshua

Natural selection favors standard height.

Natural selection might also favor tongue-rolling, but not to as great an extent.

[bryanc]

Despite it's completely non-mac related substance, I'm kind of enjoying this thread, as both a geneticist and a trumpet player.

I can roll my tongue, as well as do double and triple tonguing (now *that's* a good pick-up line).

I know that the ability to roll one's tongue is used as an example of an autosomal dominant trait in genetics textbooks, but I couldn't find it in OMIM, and I don't know what, if any, evidence there is for this claim. It's unusual, but not unheardof, for textbooks to contain factual errors. So I expect it's probably true, but I'll keep my eyes open for evidence to support/refute that hypothesis.

Cheers