Mental Floss

THE BODY

iStock/YelenaYemchuk

Hot sauces, curries, wasabi peas and other spicy treats turn you into a snot faucet. Why is that? Capsaicin is the chemical found concentrated in the placental tissue of chile peppers and allyl isothiocyanate is an oil contained in plants like mustard and

Matt Soniak
jessicajonnie/iStock via Getty Images

You ever wake up and have lots of crust in the inner corner of your eye? What is this stuff, and where does it come from?

Matt Soniak