Sensory Confusion
Published by Nichole on 18 January 2010.Have you ever noticed that young children will often refer to the flavour of something as the colour that it is?
Recently my friend's daughter was eating a lollipop and I asked her what flavour it was, she said red. I explained to her that red was the colour of the lollipop and asked what it tasted like incase perhaps she just didn't know what 'flavour' meant, she is 6 afterall. She again replied that it tasted like red.
I wasn't giving up.
I asked if red tasted like strawberries or cherries or apples. She interrupted me, Apple's taste like green, she said. Aha! She gets it. She then was able to tell me what all of the colours tasted like, though she still prefers to refer to the flavours as their corresponding colour.
And this kind of confusion isn't limited to young children...
Several days later I was out at a candle shop and I overheard someone ask what flavours the candle came in, I hear this said a lot, whether referring to candles, soap, etc. Of course I know what they mean, and I don't even really care that they say it, I just wonder how this confusion comes about.
A little clarification:
Colours are things you see with your eyes
Flavours are things you can taste
Scents are things that you smell
You should NOT be eating your candles or soap!