Why is sometimes food too hot for fingers but not too hot for mouth?

Question

Why is sometimes food too hot for fingers but not too hot for mouth?

In: 25

Answer 1

Anything over 110 degrees Fahrenheit can cause superficial burns to your skin.

160 degrees or more burns instantly.

Mixing two substances of different temperatures will result in a mixture with a temperature somewhere between the initial two, a phenomenon known as thermodynamic equilibrium. Like when putting milk in your coffee.

Saliva in your mouth is at body temperature, typically 98.6 degrees.

When you put something too hot into your mouth, the saliva can cool the food to a tolerable temperature.