Most people have gleeked in their life, be it intentionally or accidentally. When saliva gets shot out of the mouth, it is called gleeking.

Gleeking occurs when the tongue is raised and makes contact with the roof of the mouth and then force is applied to the tongue, causing the spit to fly out. After speaking with many people, they often said that two common causes for gleeking were yawning and eating. Gleeking, however, has been scientifically broken down to explain the reasoning for this occurrence. When the tongue is lifted, the papillae, which are the ends of the salivary tubes, are visible. When salivation occurs, these tubes expand, allowing more saliva to be produced and released into the mouth. Professor Gordon Proctor, a professor at Salivary Research Unit at King’s College London, believes that gleeking is caused by “compression of the ducts of the submandibular glands by muscles in the floor of the mouth when you move your tongue upwards.”

West Bloomfield High School has many students that are able to gleek on command, one of which is Justin Zora, a junior at West Bloomfield High School. When asked about gleeking, Zora described his ability to gleek, “It happened when I was around eight. I was inspired by my older brother. It took me about about a week to master it.” Ethan Talampas, another junior with the ability to gleek on command chipped in, “I learned to gleek in fifth grade.” Talampas reported that it took a week to fully learn.

Gleeking is a wonderful and sometimes useful ability. If one can harness the power of the gleek, then the possibilities are endless.