New research on the affects of background noise and how we perceive taste.
While louder noise reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness, it increased the measure of crunch.
The research is reported in the journal Food Quality and Preference.
It may go some way to explaining why airline food is notoriously bland – a phenomenon that drives airline catering companies to heavily season their foods.
“Theres a general opinion that aeroplane foods arent fantastic,” said Andy Woods, a researcher from Unilevers laboratories and the University of Manchester.
via BBC News – Background noise affects taste of foods, research shows.

The International Space recently celebrated its 10th year in full operation.
The second decade of a new era in human history — when not everyone lives on our home planet — began Nov. 2, 2010, as the International Space Station crossed the 1.5 billion mile mark of its travels with six residents on board and six visitors en route.
On Oct. 25, the station also set a record for being the longest continuously inhabited spacecraft. On that day, the International Space Station eclipsed the previous record of 3,644 days set by the Russian Mir Space Station. With each new day, NASA and its partners are pushing the envelope of human achievement in space into uncharted territory.
via NASA – 10 Years and Counting.