AllysiaAius t1_jad3w0w wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:02 PM

Reply to comment by TheRhythmZ in [WP] "One drip of this poison is enough to kill a whale." The scientist points towards a table, but the beaker isn't there. Instead a silly coffee cup shaped like a beaker sits. You lower the not coffee cup from your mouth. Tastes like lemon-lime. by DistillerCMac

Humans aren't alone in that, though. Birds aren't susceptible to it either, and love dried peppers.

badrabbitman t1_jadcgwu wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:58 PM

Well, we are alone in the fact that we choose to eat it despite the chemical defense working on us. Birds simply can't feel it, as they don't have the receptors for the chemical.

Zorro5040 t1_jadkx2v wrote on February 28, 2023 at 5:51 PM

Idk, my dog has learned to like spicy food. I started eating more spicy food to disuade my dogs from asking or trying to steal, and one of them liked it and has built some tolerance. He also loves green veggies like celery, lettuce and spinach. So far the only thing he doesn't like are bananas, he'll eat a small piece then refuse more.

wolfguidingcrow t1_jae1blj wrote on February 28, 2023 at 7:34 PM

My parents used to have a problem with rabbits eating all the bark off the lilac trees in their yard during the winter. They forgot to put burlap around the trunks before the snow fell that year. So one winter they coated the bark with hot sauce to try and get the rabbits to leave the trees alone.

Doing so had no effect, and my dad swears it actually increased how much bark the rabbits ate off the trees. From that year onwards, they always made sure to put the burlap on early.

send-borbs t1_jaeuog5 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 10:45 PM

the rabbits were probably very grateful to your parents for seasoning their food, not a luxury they'd get often

TheRhythmZ t1_jadc165 wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:55 PM

I think its because they have no permeability on their tongues. Meaning moisture cannot penetrate it, so the calcium cannot penetrate and hurt their nerve endings. Or maybe its the lack of moisture overall, since they have no saliva, so they have no medium to carry the capsaicin to the inside of the flesh on their tongues. Fun fact: that's why the expression "it's glued on with bird saliva" means the thing is not glued/nailed/screwed on properly and could fall appart at any moment.