Just when we thought the male brain couldn’t get more complicated, we go and learn his next tidbit of information.
It turns out that a 23-year-old man by the name of Henry Gray, 23 has a rare neurological condition called synaesthesia.
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This means that he can taste, smell or have a feeling associated with words . Keep reading to learn more.
Henry Gray has been able to taste, smell, or have a feeling associated with words for as long as he can remember.
But he wouldn’t have an actual name for the condition until 2009 when his parents and teachers noticed him commenting on the tastes of his classmate’s names.
“I would say things like Lucy is like a big red lollipop when they called her name out in the register and everyone would look at me confused,” he said.
The condition has given him a distaste — literally — for certain names.
He describes these sensations on his TikTok account, @henpuffs. There, he gets people to send in names they want him to talk about.
For example, he has said that the name Boris Johnson tastes like “squishing a hard-shelled beetle with his foot” and that the name “Harry Styles is like ‘hair sticking up like telephone wires.”
While we’re not sure how he feels about Donald Trump as a person, he certainly doesn’t like his name.
He has said that Donald Trump is like a “deflating rubber duck.” Some names he’s so affected by, he couldn’t possibly imagine being close friends or dating someone with that name.
“To me, Kate Middleton is vaguely like jaggedly cutting cloth with a knife in a church and I can hear it,” he said.
“Cameron Diaz is like a sparkly disco ball slowly rotating and Jennifer Lawrence is like sniffing the inside of a shoe.”
One of the worst names — and one that ultimately proves that the condition affects his dating life — is Kristy.
He says that the name evokes the faint smell of urine. Still better than being called a Karen, though.
‘I’m not sure I could be close friends with or date a Kirsty,” Henry said.
While the 23-year-old tries not to let the condition affect his life, it already has in many ways. “It’s hard but I do judge people based on their taste or smell with their name,” he said.
“It’s always strongest when I first hear a name or am introduced to someone, but I can normally tune it out in day-to-day life.”
It got particularly complicated when he was in his university’s dorm halls and he got assigned to a flat with a Duncan, Kirsty, and Elijah.
“I had to change accommodation because they’re some of the worst names – Ducan is like a bird dipped in smoky bacon crisps.”
“Kirsty is a urine smell and Elijah is like licking an eyeball,” he said, adding , “I couldn’t form a friendship with them or live with them so I changed halls.”
Some names, however, are like velvet to the ears.
“Sometimes it could be an image or feeling – like Leanne is a rose leaning on a window,” he explained. “The name Francesca is one of my favourites and is silky warm chocolate coffee.”
Sounds lovely! “I love the name Alice which is sliced apples and my sister’s name,’ he said.
“Hayley is like faint soft music,” he added.
The worst offender is the name Ian, which he said is like “having a sticky, blocked ear, all gammy and waxy — like the sensation of earache.”
Clearly, we know that Kristy will never be his wife and that Ian will never be his best mate!
H/T: Daily Mail
