Humans do some amazing things, but there's no shortage of odd trends on social media. Lately, there's a fad where folks are showcasing their ability to "gleek" — shooting saliva from under their tongue, kind of like how a snake spits venom.

The Basics Of Gleeking

While "gleeking" isn't new (kids have been doing it for ages), it became a TikTok sensation last year. Now, it's popping up again on our ForYou pages, leaving many viewers feeling a bit icky.

So, what's "gleeking" all about? It's a trick not everyone can do, but most can learn. Your mouth has thousands of saliva glands, but three major ones. The submandibular and sublingual glands sit under the tongue and usually help digest food by releasing saliva. Sometimes, though, they squirt out a little extra when they get too full.

How Does One Gleek?

For many, it's an unintentional act, which can be a tad awkward. However, some have mastered the act of gleeking on command. Many use it as an amusing party gimmick, and reactions differ. If you go by TikTok, you'd think only a select 1% can do it. But Dr. Aranov from Australia begs to differ. "Anyone can learn to do it," he asserts.

"We have glands that make saliva that sit right underneath our tongue. They release their saliva through two little openings." He added, "There's a way to train your tongue to squeeze those salivary glands and gleek."

Dr. Wolff, the head of the Dental Medicine School at the University of Pennsylvania, shared with Health a few techniques for those curious about mastering gleeking. Since our salivary glands kick into action while eating, he recommends trying something tangy to boost saliva flow. After that, fold your tongue backward so its base rests on the upper palate, right behind your upper teeth. Then, "If you tense the muscles in the tongue right," said Dr. Wolff. "It squeezes the duct, and saliva squirts right out."

WikiHow Explains

For those eager to master gleeking, WikiHow offers some insights and techniques. They point out that yawning can also be a way to activate the salivary glands. Their advice continues with: "Yawn a couple of times to stimulate saliva." Also, they recommend to "eat a sour candy to trigger your salivary gland."

They then suggest drinking water, as staying hydrated boosts saliva production. The website states, "Water is an excellent way to stimulate your salivary glands. It also has the added benefit of being good for you!"

When you get to the actual act of gleeking, WikiHow advises, "Pucker your lips together and take a deep breath. Form a small circle by pursing your lips together. It's incredibly hard to breathe and gleek at the same time, so you'll want to catch your breath before attempting to gleek. Take a deep breathe and relax your shoulders. A deep breath will give the salivary gland time to generate enough spit around the bottom of your tongue." They continue by detailing the technique of curving the tongue behind your teeth.