A young guy has described his uncommon illness, which allows him to taste, smell, and feel words – and has been able to do so since he was a child.
In 2009, Henry learned he had lexical-gustatory synaesthesia when his parents and instructors noticed him remarking on the tastes of his classmates’ names.
He stated that some names, such as ‘Kirsty,’ cause him to smell like pee. He went on to say that he had to leave academic halls to avoid the label.
Jennifer Lawrence’s name is “like smelling inside a shoe" to him, and Kim Kardashian is “vaguely kind of like swiftly ruffling handkerchiefs about in a hand."
He also compares Donald Trump to a ‘deflating rubber duck.’ Despite his condition, Henry says that his sentiments are mostly background noise, but he would struggle to date or be close friends with someone whose name he despises.
Synaesthesia is a neurological disorder that causes the crossover or merging of typically unconnected sensations. Persons affected can frequently taste or smell when hearing, speaking, reading, or thinking about words.
Metro UK quotes Henry saying, “It’s hard but I do judge people based on their taste or smell with their name. It’s always strongest when I first hear a name or am introduced to someone, but I can normally tune it out in day-to-day life."
The young man opens up to some of the worst names he has encountered in his life saying, Ducan is like “a bird dipped in smoky bacon crisps", Kirsty is ‘a urine smell’ and Elijah is like ‘liking an eyeball’.
‘Most of the time I quite like having synaesthesia and it doesn’t get in the way,’ explains Henry about how his life is not affected negatively by the illness.
Opening up about his professional life and the effects on it he says, ‘I’m a bartender at a pub so whenever I look at people’s IDs, I get a strong sense of the taste and smell.’
Henry also tells his favourite name which is the name Francesca is one of my favourites as it feels to him like a silky warm chocolate coffee.’
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