Recognize the taste and smell of words

A young British man with a strange ability is hard to believe

Henry suffers from 'lexical gustatory synchrony'.

From the source

The strange ability of a British man is sparking a worldwide wave of attention, as he suffers from a rare condition that can taste, smell and feel words.

Henry Gray, 23, has always been able to taste, smell, or feel words.

Henry discovered that he had "lexical gustatory synchrony" in 2009, after his parents and teachers taught him to comment on the tastes of his classmates' names. Sometimes the taste or smell is when you hear, speak, read, or think about words.

For Henry, the name of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tastes like "crushed a hard beetle with a foot", and the name of former US President Donald Trump is like "a deflated rubber duck".

Singer Harry Styles' name evokes a feeling of "hair sticking together like phone wires", actress Cameron Diaz like "a shiny, slowly spinning disco ball" and Jennifer Lawrence like "sniffing on the inside".

Henry, from Newcastle, stresses that he always associates words and names with tastes, smells and feelings.

"A name is always stronger when I first hear a name or get to know someone, but I can usually tune in to it in everyday life," he adds.

As a child, Henry assumed that everyone had the same ability to taste or smell words, until his parents and teachers inquired about his comments on the names of his classmates, when he described Lucy as "a big red lollipop," for example.

"Most of the time, I absolutely love having a synergy, it doesn't get in my way," he says. "I work in a coffee shop, so whenever I look at people's ID cards, I can really feel the taste and smell."

The condition affects him, he says, mainly with nouns, but other words like "stop" have a putrid smell, and "because" is like "a split wooden clothespin".

"I love the name Alice which is apple slices, my sister's name and Hailey's name which is like soft, soft music, and one of the worst is Ian's name," he said.

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