Why does spit/saliva work well as lube whereas water does not?

Question

ELI18 I guess

In: Biology

Answer 1

Spit contains tons of little protein chains! It’s just like egg white, ejaculate, or mucus (well, it is mucus, watered down). It’s why the egg white or the snot can stretch so far before the strands snap.

So, those chains have a sort of tensile strength, but they’re slippery against one another, and that allows them to lubricate.