FIGURED OUT: Why Astronauts Crave Spicy Food In Space. Thank Goodness.

The latest Mystery of the Universe has been figured out. When astronauts get their lucky asses up off this here Blue Marble, they begin to crave spicy foods. It seems that people didn’t know why, but they ever asked me and I would have explained it to them. They’re closer to Martian brain-wave manipulation. Obviously. Don’t buy my explanation? Some deceiver scientists offer a different one.

io9:

A funny thing happens after you’ve been in space for a few days. The foods you liked on day one suddenly don’t taste as good, and soon you’re reaching for the hot sauce, even if you don’t really like spicy foods. So why does it happen?

Well, the short answer is that people lose their sense of smell in space. Astronauts have reported that food doesn’t taste right after a few days on the International Space Station. Coffee is bitter, folks start craving sour and sweet foods, and everyone starts reaching for hot sauce. No one is exactly sure why astronauts lose their sense of smell, but one theory suggests that once you start spending your time hanging around in zero gravity, all those fluids that used to get dragged down to your feet are now floating around everywhere, leaving you congested and diminishing your sense of smell. Once you have trouble smelling, the craving for peppers apparently kicks in.

I still prefer my explanation.