To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

'Gleeking' is the gross human body function that most people don't realize they can do

'Gleeking' is the gross human body function that most people don't realize they can do

It's not hard to find a video of 'gleeking' on the internet...

You might not have heard of the word gleeking but there's a strong chance you've done it before.

To be honest, you might be a little disturbed to find out what it actually is, especially if you've been doing it too.

Bizarre clips of the people 'gleeking' is surprisingly not hard to find on the likes of TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.

I mean, you can trust social media to feed you with such gross videos, eh?

There's a strong chance you've gleeked without realising. (Getty stock photo)
There's a strong chance you've gleeked without realising. (Getty stock photo)

What is 'gleeking'?

Well, the gross trend focuses around the act of shooting saliva out from under your tongue.

Typically, 'gleeking' can happen when you're yawing, making for some rather awkward encounters with your colleagues before your first coffee in the morning.

How can you become a 'gleeker'?

You can actually train your tongue to apply pressure to your salivary glands to become the ultimate 'gleeking' machine.

One viral TikTok explained how one percent of the human population can apparently gleek on demand.

However, a medical expert says that 'everyone' should be able to take part in the trend with some hard work and training.




The science behind 'gleeking'

Basically, there are three pairs of major saliva glands in your mouth, which are surrounded by thousands of smaller ones.

Two of the major ones are located at the bottom of the mouth, known as the submandibular and sublingual glands.

Well, when you're eating, these glands start pushing out saliva, with any excess typically draining through ducts under the tongue.

However, this can sometimes build up and the pressure on the glands from your tongue causes it to squirt out.

This is know as 'gleeking' - a moment where you don't know whether to laugh or cry as salvia jets out your mouth.

While it may be gross, there are apparently measures you can take to increase your chances of actually being able to gleek.

Mark S. Wolff, DDS, PhD, dean of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told health.com: "If you tense the muscles in the tongue right, it squeezes the duct and saliva squirts right out."

The expert went on to say 'everyone can do this', but it will likely take some time before you are able to master it.

I mean, if you don't have any weekend plans, then maybe it's worth a go?

Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@‌skysaferian

Topics: TikTok, Science, Health, Weird