this may sound silly… but why does your nose fizz when you drink Coca Cola?

Question: this may sound silly... but why does your nose fizz when you drink Coca Cola?
- Keywords:
  bubble,
  burp,
  coka,
  coke,
  cola,
  drink,
  fizz,
  fizzy,
  nose,
  pepsi
Asked by hannahbanana to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 19 Mar 2011.
- Julian Rayner answered on 18 Mar 2011:
  
  Hi hannahbanana. There are no silly questions in science, and certainly not on this site, where the whole point is to ask questions!
  
  I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that it is because your nose is connected to the back of your mouth via a tube. That’s why if you sniff really hard, stuff goes down your throat (gross, but true). So if you drink coke, and it bubbles in the back of your mouth, some of those bubbles can go up the passage to your nose.
  
  You should never drop a mint in a cup of coke though – no scientist would condone that kind of craziness!
- Stephen Moss answered on 18 Mar 2011:
  
  Hi Hanna
  
  I suspect it’s all those bubbles, and of course if you drink it cold and it suddenly warms up in your mouth, then all those tiny gas bubbles will expand really quickly. And that’s why they can get forced through your nose.
- Jemma Ransom answered on 19 Mar 2011:
  
  Great question! I’ve just spent an hour discussing this question over dinner with friends, so hopefully we can answer you.
  
  We think that because fizzy drinks have carbon dioxide in them, when you open the bottle this escapes from the liquid creating the bubbles and hence the fizz. Ever tried to squeeze an un-opened can of pop? It’s pretty rigid because of the pressure built up inside of it by all that carbon dioxide trying to escape the liquid phase. This is why the bubbles escape so rapidly when you open the bottle which enhances and if you like ‘prolongs’ the fizz.
  
  How does this relate to your nose? Your nose is incredibly sensitive, so all the bubbles that rush by the skin of the inside of the nose when a bit of cola goes astray up there create a sort of fizzing sensation.
  
  Have you ever experienced a sort of stinging sensation when the coke is up your nose? Makes your eyes water doesn’t it! Well I think that’s because when carbon dioxide is in solution (ie in the cola mixture) it creates a weak acid called carbonic acid.You don’t notice this as it goes down your throat as your food pipe is very tough, but if some of the cola gets up your nose, it creates a burning sensation that your delicate nose is very sensitive too.
  
  Hope that answers your question!
- Eoin Lettice answered on 19 Mar 2011:
  
  Hi hannahbanana,
  It’s not silly at all – i’ve noticed this too!
  Coca cola and other fizzy drinks have carbon dioxide in them that makes them fizzy. An Englishman called Joseph Priestley was the first person to discover that you could add carbon dioxide to water and that it tasted nice and fizzy. Over time people have added different flavours to the water like orange and cola.
  Your nose fizzes when the carbon dioxide is released from the coca cola in your mouth and it travels up your nose. As the carbon dioxide hits your sensitive nose cells they give you that fizz!
  
  Hope you enjoy your coca cola!
  
  Eoin
- Charlie Ryan answered on 19 Mar 2011:
  
  hi hannahbanana i dont know really – are you sure it’s not just you who feels this??!