The other day, my youngest daughter came running up to me and started hopping up and down excitedly, shouting that she had the coolest thing ever to show me. She demanded I get my camera and I was all over it because cool stuff never happens around me. I returned with my camera and she said “are you ready?” and I said “yep” and she said “are you sure?” and I said “I’m sure” and she said “are you really really sure?” and I said “honey, c’mon, I’m getting old already” and she said “what does that mean?” and I went all Nike on her and shouted “JUST DO IT!” and she shouted “OK” and then she proceeded to break her tongue.
And I dropped my camera and yelled “Oh my God, what the hell are you doing?”
And she said “aaagh! ag aarr!”
And I said “What?”
And she said “Mom! Bad word!”
And I said “Who the hell cares, what in the name of holy hell are you doing with your tongue?”
And she said “aaaarrrhhh eeeeeh ooooo?”
And I said “What?”
And she said “Isn’t it cool?”
And I said “STOP DOING IT THIS MINUTE OR YOU WILL BREAK IT AND I’M NOT GETTING YOU A NEW ONE.”
And she said “I’m not breaking it! I’m just folding it! Look! I can do it over and over! See? It doesn’t hurt!”
And I saw her do it over and over again. And I’m not sure if I should be proud or worried or grossed out.
So far, I’ve decided to be none of the above and have no opinion whatsoever. I’ll wait to see what everyone else thinks and then holler “I KNOW, RIGHT?!”
In the interim, I will document it for posterity so I can be ready when and if that day ever comes when she is told by some idiot at recess that she can’t do anything special to which I will respond “Hey, no one else I know can fold their tongue in half so you tell him/her/whomever to take that and stick it where the sun don’t shine” because I just live for those moments when I am both motherly and eloquent. They don’t happen very often. At all.
Here she is, sticking out her tongue. Nothing is happening yet. Kind of boring, actually. But just you wait.
.
Here she is, just starting to bend it. I think it looks kind of weird, but who am I to judge? I’m just her mom. My opinion doesn’t count. And I just remembered, I’m not voicing an opinion until everyone does.
.
Here she is … it’s almost there … just a bit more to go …
.
*BAM” – there it is in all its folded glory. Forgive the blurriness, she does it so fast that it kind of freaks me out and causes my hands to shake and my stomach to heave.
.
Here’s a side view, just in case you haven’t grasped the magnitude of this event. No wires, no tape, no glue. Nothing holding that tongue down except sheer will and determination and some freakish genetic anomaly.
Does anybody else do this? Is this normal for an eight year old girl?
I have no idea where she gets this so I’m going to say it’s from Nate’s side of the family because … well, just because. Unless somebody says it’s a sign of extraordinary talent or the mark of a gifted child in which case it most definitely came from mine.
So, what do you think? Should I be proud? Should I be worried? Should I be throwing up? Should I be typing this from the emergency room?
She can also wiggle her ears. Just thought I’d throw that out there in case it matters.
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{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: heather_t_
August 25, 2008 at 3:21 am
Wow, funky!!! Wonder how that’ll look with a piercing… *ducks*
You know you’ve got us all sticking our tongue out at funny angles whilst we read this ?!
I have visions of blog readers all over the world sticking their tongues out and trying to bend them back with looks of intense concentration on their faces…
That is freaky. I can wiggle my ears but no amount of tongue wiggling can force my tongue back on itself like that.
I’ll admit it, I tried it, but without a mirror, I couldn’t tell if I was doing it right.
Just be glad she’s not doing that nasty thing where she flips her eyelids inside out. THAT one freaks me out every time!
I want to know how many readers tried this LOL. Everyone has to have a party trick, this is your daughter’s. Mine was being able to fit my entire fist in my mouth. Just don’t let her do that around boys when she’s in High School.
Ok. This is shocking. I have never seen anyone be able to do this. I can do it in my head, and then when I try in real life, I’m a wannabe, tongue folding fool. So yeah. Totally not normal. But way cool. She should join the circus.
Thats creeeeeepy, I can’t stand when people do weird stuff to their bodies. *covers eyes & shudders*
Those who can are the elite tongue gymnasts ROFLOL….yes I can do it and I can roll my tongue round so the top is down and the bottom up, I can also roll my tongue into a “drinking straw” kind of effect (it would be interesting to find out if she can do it too). I am pretty sure my brother could do it, my sister couldn’t. My kids can’t and neither can my DH. I can’t wiggle my ears without looking really strange thought – now that and nose wiggling are feats to admire and aspire to.
Wow…that’s something! (And yes, I tried too.
) My only party trick is that I can wiggle each ear independently. And that I can make my eyes look like they are going in two different directions, but it gives me a headache. lol…
Twitter: barbhogan
August 25, 2008 at 11:04 am
but can she tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue?
I thought you were talking about her folding her tongue in half lengthwise, which I can totally do. But this is beyond my range of talents. I have never seen anyone do that, and I am 48 years old and have 5 kids, for Pete’s sake! Save those pictures for the slideshow at her future wedding.
I’m old…I can’t look.
Have a great day!
thena.typepad.com
My kids can curl their tongues up into all sorts of shapes and contortions. I’ll have to see if they can do this, that’s a new one for me. I can’t do anything with my tongue and they think I’m lame.
OMG, I totally almost peed myself! That is too funny! I’ve never seen anything like that, so it must be an extra special talent. Of course, I just spent 10 minutes making sure it wasn’t something I could do.
That’s actually kind of handy, she could store all kinds of stuff in there. When the teacher asks her if she’s chewing gum, she can just fold it away into her tongue.
I know that being able to curl your tongue is genetic, but I’ve never seen anyone do that before. I’d guess that’s probably in the genes somewhere too – did you try it?
HOLY COW That is SO FREAKY!! But I have to admit I can sorta do that but NOT near that folded!!! VERY COOL!!!!!!!
holy crap i’ve never seen anything like that in my life! i vote for proud
lol
This is cool, but I worry too much. Make sure she is careful and doesn’t choke herself. By the way she is so cute!
0_0
That’s pretty awesome. I just tried for the last three minutes and no cigar. I’d go proud… I’ve never seen that done before. And now my tongue is sore and itchy from trying to twist it into odd shapes.
Wow -I tried it and could not do it. Totally cool – you should be proud!
Sue (2 peas)
Is there any Klingon in the family genes . .
I have to admit, I am amazed! And yes, I did try it, not even close to what she can do.
Be proud, very proud, but if someone acts all weirded out by it….blame the Dad!
LOL
Kat
WOW, is all I can say…I tried it, cant even come close to that! Such talent and ability! You should be proud!!
Wow! I’ll admit I tried it too! Didn’t work! That’s cool that your DD can do that!
Oh that is too funny, Andy!! I have to admit – I tried it myself and can *almost* get my tongue to look like hers, lol!
That is crazy! I’ve never seen anyone fold their tongue like that before! I’d be proud… LOL
If you can’t then your husband probably can. 1 of you have to be able to if she can. This is what I have been told anyway.
I can fold mine like that and also wrap it like a straw.
It’s pretty cool that she can do it slow enough for you to take a picture.
Twitter: eclecticred
August 28, 2008 at 9:40 am
LOL!! You GO Helena!! That is soo cool! I can curl mine up and curl it together from both sides it’s not nearly as cool as what she can do!! I vote for getting her a manager and movin’ to Hollywood:)
Me, my mom, sister, and my 6 year old daughter can all do this plus the 3 leaf clover. Also all of us when we yawn, our tongues raise up into a bowl shaped position inside of our mouths. My dad and 2 brothers can barely roll their tongues like a tube and their tongues stay down when they yawn. It is a female genetic trait that shows excellent brain to tongue nerve connection, coordination, and control.
Believe me it has come in handy for me and my sister when we were learning Spanish, neither one of us had a problem learning how to roll our R’s, and both of us have been fluent Spanish speakers since we were 14. Also I have heard that females who have excellent tongue control ability can be very good at math. It has to do with the part of the brain in a woman that controls both the tongue and math reasoning. It’s different in men for some reason. I think this is true because me, my sister, and my mom can do algebra equations in our brains without writing anything down and my daughter is showing strong signs of good math skills even at her age. My dad and brothers are all awful at math.
I can touch my nose and my chin with my tongue, do the tube shape, rolling it like worm, make a three leaf clover, turn it sideways left and right, and also wiggle my ears, going cross eyed, make my eyes completely white (when i do it my contact lens get stuck), and same like carla said, im a natural matematician. I never study for math at home, but i always get the best score in my class, im on the third year in highschool now…
I’ve been able to fold my tongue in half like that since I was little too. I’ve never met anyone else who could, which makes it kind of fun to show off. The tongue twisting, curling, and three leaf clovers all came easily too, though I possess absolutely not skill at moving my ears. This isn’t the most unique tongue maneuver I’ve ever seen though. A friend of mine can actually lengthen her tongue from top to bottom to make it look like a whale. That’s a little way out of my skill set. I didn’t know that this had any ties to my math skills, but I’ve always done well with it, and I became fluent in French as a teenager.
I can do this too. Apparently about 1 in 500 people can do it. Pretty cool
i can do this
i started off doing it by habbit with my mouth close and then it just stuck when i opened my mouth 
i can do that. think theres only a small number of people in the world who have the genes to do it yay im not alone!
I can do this! and the 3leaf clover…my husband was amazed when I showed him…and ppl are like…what the heck?!
I can do this. I’m the only one in my family that can. Although, my brother can do the 3 leaf clover.
Apparently 1 in 1000 people can do it (according to Ripley’s Believe it or not).
i can do it. only me, another girl and one boy in my year at school can. i found out i could do it in 2003 when i went to a Ripleys museum and they had a picture of someone doing it.
Emma…ME TOO! I was 8 when I discovered I could do it at the Ripley’s Believe it or not in San Antonio.
I am 26 now and it is definately my party trick. I have never meet anydody else that could do it.
I can wiggle my ears too
I just googled “tongue bending in half” because I am the only one I’ve known that can do this. I was starting to think i was the only one in the world lol I think it’s cool
)
Alexandra
Oh, and to the comment above mine, that’s where I found out also, in the two way mirror at Ripleys believe it or not!!
When I sleep, my tongue folds itself & my bottom lip follows the tongue. Without it being folded, it seems the tounge cannot relax completely in my mouth. When I’m awake, I can do this with my mouth open for more than 1.5 mins. Then, I need to swallow. This morning, I felt like searching to see who else can do this and bam!
i can perform this tongue trick.i was 6yrs old at the time when i was struggling to blow bubbles from a chewing gum.i was really upset because i couldn’t blow bubbles but i was trying something else out with my tongue to understand the movements of how to blow a chewing gum,it then led to me to stick my tongue as like shown above.i then was going to florida on setember 11th 2002 i think it was the time with the world trade centers went down,but my plane was cancelled half way so i was flown back to london gatwick airport. i then went again for the second time when i was 14 and within that period i was watching on a british channel called BRAVO the program ripley’s believe it or not but the funny thing is i actually went there on the second flight and i came across a unique picture and i was STUNNED to what i had seen.it was a woman must have been in her 30s performing the tongue fold and i had a picture taken of me and the picture and i have it up on my bedroom wall.i also remember that a woman who worked in the florida ripleys believe it or not mansion said to me “you couldn’t do that with your tongue”. i said “YES i can watch me”.i then shown her and she was shocked that the woman on the picture wasn’t the only person who could perform that trick.
well to end it when i get hold of a lot of cash and money i am going back to florida on my own.explore and maybe go back to the ripleys believe it or not mansion with that picture and show it to all the people who walks by that picture.
thanks for taking your time and thank you for reading my short story.
shandor hahn from england.
We just realized that my son could do this on his first kindergarten trip!! We were totally freaked out at first!!! I have never seen anyone do this! I googled it to see if I could find out how many people could do this little trick…and I saw your post. Interesting about the math comments…he has a natural talent with numbers…would have never put these two together.
Shelley
LOL i know it may seem shocking to others but this is normal to me!! I mean i CAN DO IT TOO!! lol sometimes i wonder how u CANT do this!!! ITS SUPER EASY TO ME!!!
My 9 yr old son can do it too…he can also do his tongue like a shamrock leaf.
I can do that!! I havn’t met anyone else who could. Everyone I show thinks it’s gross.
Just tickled to see that this might be a little normal after all. My 8 year daughter showed me this as her version of tongue rolling. It took me a minute to realize what she was actually doing in lieu of the sides rolled up, which she cannot do. I’m worried her tongue will get stuck like that or she’ll cut off the circulation somehow and it not work properly. Very interesting considering it is so weird. I would like to read the stats on this and why it happens. You don’t read about this one in the textbooks–only tongue rolling, a hitchikers thumb, and double jointedness. There’s another kid in her class who can jiggle his eyes, back and forth, really fast–talk about gross–that is downright spooky.
I can do this! I’ve been doing it for a while and get my tongue out of my mouth! i learned it from ripley’s believe it or not.. only so many people in the world can actually do this trick!
There is an ancient meditation technique called Kechari Mudra that involves folding the tongue back and touching the uvula. (the hangey down thingy). Maybe she is a budding mystique.
yeah this aint normal for an eight year old kid but i can do this thing when i was around her age..
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