Elbow Licking Challenge

Now, here's a thing you might not know:
not everyone you know can lick their elbow.

Let's talk about... tho.

♪ (theme music) ♪

- Gooooood Mythical Morning!
- Humans are amazing!

The human body is amazing. Look at
this thing! Look at these arms!

- Whoah! (laughs)
- If we do say so ourselves!

Look at these things
I can do! I can pick up a cup.

I can pick up a cup higher.
I'm more human than you are.

- You can't go higher than this.
- I'm more human than human.

I'm off the screen. I can make a sandwich
with these hands. I can do all kinds--

I can scratch myself with these
hands. But you know what?

What? (laughs) I'm actually--
subconsciously I started scratching myself.

I gotcha. That was all a trick to
get you to scratch yourself.

- (laughs) Whoa, you're like a magician!
- But there are some things that only a

small percentage of the human population
can do, and today we're going to see how

many of those things we can do.
And of course, while you're watching

Good Mythical Morning, you can try them
and you'll look like a crazy person,

especially if you're on the subway
with your headphones on. Okay.

- Yeah, so do that. Attempt along. So...
- And I know that you can do-- I've been

friends with you long enough to know that
there's a number of these things that I

just kinda-- oh yeah, I know Link can do
that. And there's a lot of these that I

cannot do, including our first one,
which is wiggle your ears.

- Oh, okay.
- Only 10-20% of the population can

actually do this. I feel like I have no
control over those at all. Let's see what

- you've got over there, Link.
- Now, first of all, this may be a good

- look for me.
- The ears. The ear look. I don't think

it's a good look. I think you
should never-- whoa, goodness.

- (Rhett) Your whole head moves!
- My hair and my ears, yeah.

(Rhett) So, what muscle
are you contracting?

- Um.
- (Rhett) Can you feel where

- it's happening?
- My buttocks.

- (snorts)
- When I clench my buttocks, my

- whole head just moves.
- What else are you contracting?

- (laughs) I'm, um... there's like--
- (Rhett) Below the ears, it looks like

- below the ears.
- There's muscles behind the ears and

- it has residual clenching up here.
- Well, you're in the 10-20 percentile

on this. Or I guess that would be the
80-90 percentile. And this is inherited,

so can your dad or mom do this?
Do you know? Have you ever asked

- your dad to wiggle his ears?
- That'd just be an awkward question,

- Rhett. I just can't bring myself to ask.
- But you say, "Dad, it's inherited."

(silly voice) Dad, can you
wiggle your ears?

Okay, what about this?
I can do this one.

- (normally) No, I'll ask him, though.
- And I have been known to be known

- for it.
- Okay.

- Raising one eyebrow.
- Oh, yeah. Okay, can you raise the

- other eyebrow though?
- That's the thing that I can't do,

- and you actually can do that, can't you?
- Try it.

- I can't.
- Really?

I tried when I was looking at this stuff.
I can do both and I can do that one.

- Okay, so... (sniffs)
- I cannot do the right and the left down.

- I can't do it.
- So if I'm like...

It's amazing. Your facial muscle
control, Link, is staggering.

- More human than human.
- Now, most people can't do this because

they don't inherently know the right
nerves to trigger in order to get the

muscles to do what they want, but they
actually do have the-- this isn't like

the ears. I can't get my ears to move
no matter what I do. But I can--

- Mmhm.
- ... move my eyebrows up and down.

But I don't know the combination of the
trigger in order to make that happen.

For some reason I know
how to do it with this one.

(snobby voice) I've spent years toning
my face muscles and head muscles.

Here's hope if you wanna do this: almost
anyone can do this with practice.

(normally) Huh! Thanks for providing
hope to yourself and others.

Roll your tongue!

- Oh, you can do that one.
- I can do this one.

- A lotta people can do this one.
- My aunt Teasie taught me this one

as a young child.

(wet slurps)

However, one in ten people can
turn their tongue into a 3-leaf clover.

- What?
- It looks like-- okay, a 3-leaf clover,

(Rhett) And then he can-- this guy in the
picture can also do a 4-leaf clover.

All right, let me try this.

(Rhett) It's very unpleasant to watch.

Oh, hold on, you're doing something weird!

- (crew laughs)
- (Rhett) Eugh. There's something nasty

happening down there.

(laughs) Anyone can do tongue lips.

I can do it a lot better than you, though,
'cause you got that mustache.

This isn't about tongue lips.
This is about rolling your tongue.

Again, this is also a result
of genetic inheritance.

(laughs) My genetics are just... all of
my genetics were poured into my face.

- (both laugh)
- If they had--

I don't even have genetics
in the rest of my body!

(laughs) If, growing up, there had
been a facial sports team....

- I would have been...
- That would have been your calling!

I'd have had leather sleeves
on my letter jacket.

Hold on, you know what? You could invent
this for kids out there who can't play

traditional sports. You could start a
campaign for facial sports.

I invented this one. This one's called
the skin-stache. It's a skin mustache.

- I don't even wanna see this.
- (Link and crew laugh)

Golly. The idea-- the sound of that is
the most unpleasant thing I've ever heard.

No, it's just this. Watch, watch.

(Rhett) Oh, but that comes later, man.
That comes later 'cause that's nose stuff.

- I got the nose stuff--
- Oh, nose stuff? That's... okay.

- Tickle yourself.
- No thank you.

Everyone is ticklish. Well, most people
are ticklish. But almost no one can tickle

themselves. We've actually-- (giggles)
Ah, see? Now, Link can tickle me, but

- do that-- I'll do that to myself.
- I don't wanna put the same feather in

- my own ear.
- Nothing. This is a hard feather!

- What happened to this bird?
- (Link and crew laugh)

Bird's got some bird hairspray on. Okay,
this is really interesting. I think we've

talked about this way back on the show.
Tickling works because your cerebellum

cannot anticipate the touch that is
being applied to you, but when

you touch yourself, your cerebellum
anticipates the touch and that's why it's

- no longer ticklish. However...
- Tickle is basically surprise.

- It's 90% surprise.
- But it does follow, and this is true,

that many schizophrenic
people-- people who have...

- Multiple personalities?
- Well, I don't-- there's different

situations going on here, but
schizophrenic people have the

ability, because they can dissociate
themselves into different parts,

- Oh!
- they can tickle themselves.

- Fascinating.
- That's one of the things that happens,

because they can dissociate. They can
actually lose the ability to anticipate

the tickle. I don't think it's worth being
in that situation in order to be able to

tickle yourself, but it's
interesting that it's possible.

No. Smell the end of that,
'cause I put it in my armpit.

- Oh, gosh.
- (crew laughs)

Why'd you make me do that?

- I just wanted to see if you'd get tickled.
- Touch your nose with your tongue.

(Rhett) Oh my goodness, it's--

- (Rhett) You can't do it! You can't do it!
- (Link grunts)

But you know who can?

(Link) You?

- Ho! Your nose is close to your mouth!
- (laughs) Yeah! I got one! I got one!

That was easy for you!

I could do it all day. This is
called one of the Gorlin Signs.

- (Link grunts excitedly)
- Oh, c'mon, man. Why'd you--

You spent all that time, and now you're
just doing it? Is it a different technique?

- I think I can get a booger.
- Okay, well, we both have what is called

"The Gorlin Sign." 10% of the general
population can perform this act and

we both can! We're in the 90th percentile,
man! For tongue... nose touchers!

- Yep! (slurs) Own tug, own nose.
- (crew laughs)

Speak English. I'm gonna speak
English the rest of this episode. (laughs)

Here's another one that falls in the
Gorlin Sign. Apparently there was a guy

- named Gorlin who was interested--
- Poor guy.

- in what things your tongue could touch.
- Was that his first--

And he got a bunch of (stutters) sting--
ning-- things named after him.

- You can't speak English either.
- I can't--

- After your tongue...
- When you stick your tongue out and

- stretch it...
- (slurs) You can't speak with it anymore.

(slurs) You lose the ability to talk.

- (normally) Licking your elbow.
- (normally) Hm. I've heard of this,

- I've never tried it.
- Oh my gosh! Look how he-- look!

(Rhett) Look! He's--! Oh my goodness!
That's so crazy, you're doing it!

- (laughs)
- Almost nobody can do that, man!

- Really? I've never tried it! New skill!
- Look how a normal person does...

- (laughs)
- Look how far I am from that!

- Hold on, you're not a normal person.
- They say, "Unless you were born with

- particularly short upper arms...
- (laughs)

and a long enough tongue,
you just physically can't reach."

So you-- look, your upper
arm is super short, man!

I can't do this one 'cause
my shoulder's hurt, but...

(Rhett) I mean, look.
Look how far I am from it.

- Look.
- (Link laughs)

- I mean, look! Look at the side view.
- 3 and a half, 4 inches right there.

Now, interestingly,
I told my children this...

- (Link and crew laugh)
- First of all, almost every-- like 99% of

people will try to do this once you tell
them that you can't lick your own elbow.

- And I did too.
- And Link actually successfully did it,

- which usually doesn't happen.
- I'm gonna be doing it on the street

- and charging.
- (crew laughs)

- Both of my children did this last night.
- Really?

And the way they did it, 'cause they're so
flexible, is they didn't even do this.

They both went like this and left their
arm straight and leaned in and licked it.

- (laughs) I can do that.
- Both of 'em!

- (Rhett) Just like that.
- If I pull this...

(Rhett) How do you do... Link!
You could've been an athlete!

- (laughs)
- If this was a sport!

- A face-lete.
- This is your arm!

- You could've been an arm-lete!
- (laughs) Yeah, man, yeah. For real!

- Gimme another one.
- Okay. (clears throat)

Gleeking. I don't think
either one of us can do this.

- I'm not even interested in trying that.
- This is when you can project saliva

from the sub...man... submandibular gland
upon compression by the tongue.

- Did you just have a seizure?
- (laughs) Yes. Submandibular bla-gland.

- (mocking himself) Bland. (laughs)
- How do you do it?

It can happen voluntarily but a lot of
people do it involuntarily. I've done it

on accident many times. But I don't even
wanna know how to do that. It seems like

- a very nasty thing.
- I don't know. We'll try some more in

- Good Mythical More.
- And finally, twitch your nose.

- Like Bewitched?
- She didn't actually twitch her nose,

she just moved her top lip. That was
Samantha Stevens of Bewitched.

- She popularized it.
- My nose is moving, but my lip is

- moving too.
- But there are some people who have

- nostril control to such a degree, like...
- Oh, nostril control. I got that.

- Check this.
- But can you do...

- (Rhett) I can flare, I can flare.
- You can flare?

My nostrils are not
as intimidating, but...

No, your lip's moving. Don't move
your lip at all. Your lip's still moving.

♪ Your lips are movin',
but you're not flarin' flarin' ♪

No, look.

Your lips are moving. Watch my lips.

- (Rhett) Your lips are moving too!
- No they're not, are they?

Your upper lip. It's
residual, man. Your lip--

Hold your lip.

(Link) It's not working. See, you're
not doing it. You don't have this gift.

- (laughs)
- You don't have it. You're an imposter!

- I got it, though.
- (Rhett) But can you make it wiggle?

(Rhett) Can you do one side? This woman
on YouTube-- we'll show the video--

she can do up and down on
each side of her nose.

- No, no. I can't do that. That's--
- (Rhett) Well, you can practice.

(Link) That's offensive in some countries.

Then you'll win the Face Olympics.

Okay, what of this stuff could you
actually do? I doubt that you could do as

- many as Link could do.
- Challenge me in the comments.

And Link is now announcing his running
for the 2024 Face Olympics. We're gonna

have to set the groundwork for that so we
can actually make it be an event.

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- Link in the description. Thanks for

- liking and commenting on this video.
- You know what time it is.

Hey, my name is Annika
and I'm from Germany.

And it is time to spin
the Wheel of Mythicality.

If you like to look at pictures of waffles
without eating 'em, well all you gotta do

is follow us on Instagram, where we
have Waffle Wednesday.

(Link) And lots of other pictures
that I'm sure you wanna... click?

- Double-click.
- Click through to Good Mythical More,

where we get the crew out here to get
their special physical challenge on.

(Rhett) Link is obsessed
with air guitar solos.

What've you been up to lately, Link?

- ♪ (electric guitar solo) ♪
- Oh, some more of that, huh?

♪ (electric guitar solo) ♪

- ♪ (electric guitar solo) ♪
- Can you lick your guitar?

- ♪ (electric guitar solo) ♪
- Well that's cool.

- Only 10% of the population can do that.
- (giggles)

[Captioned by Caitrin:
GMM Captioning Team]