why does your tongue get stuck if you try to lick to a cold metal pole?
In: Physics
The reason your saliva freezes so quickly on metal in particular is that metal conducts heat very well. Your warm saliva dumps some heat into the nearby cold metal, then the heat redistributes within the rest of the pole, and your tongue is still on cold metal. A large metal pole is as good as an infinite heat sink at freezing temperatures, compared to the small amount of saliva on your tongue.
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