All mysteries
Mystery #1Tier 1taste and smell

Why does your favourite food taste of almost nothing when your nose is blocked?

You cannot wait to eat your favourite meal. But your nose is blocked from a cold, and when you take a bite it tastes of almost nothing, like chewing warm cardboard. Your tongue is working perfectly fine. So where has all the flavour gone?

A bowl of hot orange tomato soup with a spoon resting in it
Photo: JIP · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What do you think has stolen the flavour while your tongue still works perfectly?

There's no single magic word to type, have a go in your own words, then reveal the answer to see how close you got.

Make a guess to unlock the hints and the answer.