E-TIDBIT OF THE DAY: Offering others a lick

Offering others a lick of your ice cream is interesting to contemplate. Do they really want me to take a lick or are they just trying to be polite eating delicious ice cream in front of me, while I stand by them "food-less"? It is a Brazilian custom to offer what one is eating when with others who are not. They even offer you a bite of their lunch! Even when they know you are about to eat, they still offer you theirs!

Photo from www.fas.harvard.edu

When I came to Brazil, my new friends, who were enjoying some scrumptious morsels, would always ask me if I wanted some. If it did not involve exchanging saliva, I would sometimes say, "Yes, I'll have some, thanks". But, if they were offering a bite of a candy bar that they had already bitten, or a portion of something that would have been impossible to taste if not by just biting off a chunk, I would usually decline the offer. If they hadn't yet eaten any of what they were offering, I would sometimes venture a bite, not wanting to possibly offend them by refusing.

Photo from www.gettyimages.com

Now, there is the context of talking about good friends with whom you don't mind exchanging saliva, since they ARE FRIENDS AFTER ALL. Somehow when it's a good friend, someone you would be willing to trust your life with, suddenly changes the rational to two likely scenarios: 

1. "Well, they are my friend, my buddy, so they can't have some horrible disease that could pass onto me. They take care of themselves, don't they? They have good hygiene, so they surely cannot pass on something unhealthy to me, right? I mean, I even sit on their toilet seat, not bothering to put TP down for protection when visiting their house! So, taking a bite won't hurt!"

OR...

2. "Hum...", you think for a split second. "My buddy, my chum, my friend is my friend! I don't care if I take in some of their germ-filled saliva while tasting their snack! It's no big deal!"

Photo from www.dreamstime.com

On a more personal note, I grew up with a dentist, my father. He is now a retired oral surgeon. Once in a while, he would give us kids a surprising fact about the human mouth which, frankly, we would have rather not known about. One of these facts was that dog's mouths are bacterially cleaner than the human mouth. He told us that gangrene can even be present in our mouths just waiting to infect some vulnerable part of our bodies! Immediately, we thought about where dogs' mouths have been, and how they could possibly have CLEANER mouths than us?!? Yuk!! (One time my dog licked me right on my

"Keep on your side, Fluffy!"
Photo from www.buzzerg.com

tongue and I'm still alive!). And then, we all thought of the many germs that must be exchanged during the act of kissing! But, the fact is that my father was right. Just check the net! You will find studies showing that many diseases have been traced back to that puckered up oral cavity called the human mouth!

"Oooo, Mommy, that's cold!"
Photo from www.pinterest.com

Anyway, back to offering snacks to others...Just today someone offered me a sip of their juice, which I declined. Once I saw a documentary which showed us how much saliva goes back into the glass of water we drink from. It is an astonishing amount! Much more than we realize! So, you might want to think again next time someone offers you a sip of their beverage.

"Oooo, baby, that's good!"
Photo from www.dailykitten.com

Well, Brazilian friends tell me that offering someone a bite, sip or even a lick is just to be polite. They don't necessarily want the person to actually take a lick, sip or bite! But, then again, when close friends practice this, they usually are ready for you to accept their offer! So...I guess the moral of this story is that you just enjoy life and conclude that what harm could there be doing this among friends. And if the person offering you a lick, sip or bite, is NOT one of your close friends or even a stranger, just ask yourself if you want to take the chance offending them because they are just being polite and DON'T want you to accept, or if you will be so bold as to SIP, BITE OR LICK!

It's FOOD for thought!