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 8 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
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Comments
PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Cossty@lemmy.world 8 months 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 8 months ago
Run your wrists, palm up, under cold water. It’s black magic. It will stop it almost instantly.
PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world 8 months 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 8 months ago
Try slicing a lime or lemon before cutting onions.
degen@midwest.social 8 months ago
swab148@startrek.website 8 months ago
I think that just generally helps with life
nifty@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I don’t get it, bite into something, or eat something sweet?
jawa21@lemmy.sdf.org 8 months ago
Holding bread in your mouth.
ElJefe@lemm.ee 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months ago
Instructions unclear, now I have pointy eyes
mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Instructions unclear, I can’t see anymore
mexicancartel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Because you have sharpened and blinded yourself…
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months 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 8 months ago
You can also heavily dehydrate yourself if you don’t wanna cry, might work haven’t tried it yet
fossilesque@mander.xyz 8 months ago
Run cold water on your wrists. Problem solved.
the_third@feddit.de 8 months ago
I just have a pair of swimming goggles in the kitchen.
Weyland@lemmygrad.ml 8 months ago
Great. Another factoid I can throw at people
umbrella@lemmy.ml 8 months ago
is that why wetting it reduces the pain?
fossilesque@mander.xyz 8 months ago
No, it’s about the shock of the cold on your nervous system.
muntedcrocodile@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Doesnt it literally make the gas used in ww1 in ur eyes.
skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
no
skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months 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 8 months ago
I don’t know whether to believe the meme or the comment on the meme.
pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Source
I’m not a chemistry guy though.