Space, Astronauts & Tabasco Sauce: Hot Like Fire!

Bet you didn’t know about astronauts and hot sauce… Tabasco sauce to be exact.  According to NASA and food experts, there’s one thing that most astronauts will crave once they have been in a space for a couple of days – hot sauce.  In a news report by NPR, this week, the folks at NASA’s food science program say there’s a reason for that.  It’s called the “Charlie Brown phase.”

Yes, as in the round-headed cartoon creation of Charles M. Schulz!  I know.  This story just keeps getting more interesting, LOL!

So the scientific explanation is that due to the lack of gravity in space, the fluids in astronauts’ bodies aren’t being dragged down as they normally would be here on Earth, and therefore these fluids are traveling freely throughout their bodies, including their heads, causing them to get rounder faces as well as to feel congested as if they had a cold.  That’s why it is called the Charlie Brown phase.  I like the name.  This causes everything they eat to taste like nada and that’s where Tabasco comes in.

Why Tabasco sauce?  Who knows!

Maybe we need to send them a gift box of Valentina and Cholula sauces to try out in space as well… although, to me, Tabasco definitely has a stronger smell.  Maybe that’s the reason for the preference.  I’m totally guessing here now.  No scientific proof behind my imaginaciones.

After having read this story, my weekend is a little brighter now.

It gives me great joy to know that if we do have to go live on the moon or Mars one day, for whatever reason, I can bring my salsa picante with me!

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