I am especially sensitive to this. I’ve found that using a very, very sharp knife can help, but some onions are especially strong. At that point I’m breaking out the swimming goggles.
gottem
Submitted 2 years ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
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Comments
PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 2 years ago
Cossty@lemmy.world 2 years ago
I thought I was the only one who cuts onion with goggles. If I only need one onion I don’t need them if I am quick enough, but if I need more than that, I always whip out swimming goggles.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 years ago
Run your wrists, palm up, under cold water. It’s black magic. It will stop it almost instantly.
PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 2 years ago
I am going to try this, but I’d really like to know why it works. Someone else suggested cold water on the knife. Do the irritant molecules from the onion react with the water on your hands/wrists/knife before getting up in your eyes?
YaxPasaj@lemmy.eco.br 2 years ago
Try slicing a lime or lemon before cutting onions.
degen@midwest.social 2 years ago
swab148@startrek.website 2 years ago
I think that just generally helps with life
nifty@lemmy.world 2 years ago
I don’t get it, bite into something, or eat something sweet?
jawa21@lemmy.sdf.org 2 years ago
Holding bread in your mouth.
ElJefe@lemm.ee 2 years ago
At some point I started running cold water on the knife before cutting and onion, and it seems to help. Does anyone know if there’s science behind this, or am I making shit up?
HopFlop@discuss.tchncs.de 2 years ago
Others in this thread have pointed out that running cold water over your arms helps. So maybe while you wet your blade, your arms get wet too…?
Arcity@feddit.nl 2 years ago
Maybe it lubricates the knife so that it crushes less union cells. That is the reason a sharper knife also works. Or the water dissolves part of the escaping gass. I think it might be both.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 years ago
my guess would be that it dilutes the stuff in onion cells that reacts and creates the irritating gas, and maybe even prevents the reaction from happening or just dissolves the gas into the water instead
Shoe@lemm.ee 2 years ago
It was fun to discover that contact lenses are like a superpower when it comes to cutting onions. Finally, a benefit to being utterly blind!
Carrolade@lemmy.world 2 years ago
It’s hard, but don’t blink. If you blink it gets under your eyelids. If you don’t, the tears just continuously wash it down.
capital@lemmy.world 2 years ago
I just got a knife sharpener and it actually helps.
After sharpening, my eyes couldn’t even tell that I was cutting an onion.
swab148@startrek.website 2 years ago
Instructions unclear, now I have pointy eyes
mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 2 years ago
Instructions unclear, I can’t see anymore
mexicancartel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 years ago
Because you have sharpened and blinded yourself…
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 years ago
this works because the pain is caused by an irritating gas released when you crush the onion cells and some compounds mix together and react, with a sharp knife fewer cells are crushed so there’s less gas
RogueBanana@lemmy.zip 2 years ago
You can also heavily dehydrate yourself if you don’t wanna cry, might work haven’t tried it yet
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 years ago
Run cold water on your wrists. Problem solved.
the_third@feddit.de 2 years ago
I just have a pair of swimming goggles in the kitchen.
Weyland@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
Great. Another factoid I can throw at people
umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
[deleted]fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 years ago
No, it’s about the shock of the cold on your nervous system.
muntedcrocodile@lemmy.world 2 years ago
Doesnt it literally make the gas used in ww1 in ur eyes.
skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 2 years ago
no
skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 2 years ago
this meme is wrong
what really happens is that this thiopropenal S-oxide attacks free thiol in one receptor that usually detects spicy smells, much like about any modern tear gas (CN, CS, CR. also allyl isothiocyanate from mustard and many, many, many other alkylating things). there’s no acid involved
Rodeo@lemmy.ca 2 years ago
I don’t know whether to believe the meme or the comment on the meme.
pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 2 years ago
Source
I’m not a chemistry guy though.