Cinnamon Gags.
Around my office, most of my coworkers know that I’m a culinary school grad, so I get a lot of oddball questions. The one that I’ve been asked a lot, recently, is ‘What is the deal with the tablespoon of cinnamon thing?’ or ‘Is that stuff true in the videos, or are they faking with the cinnamon?’.
My official answer is: Some are faked, some are not.
Anyone who has worked in a bakery knows that cinnamon will mess you up if you’re not careful. Cinnamon powder is very fine-grained, and gets airborne easily. sneezing, coughing, and retching can ensue.
The videos where people are gagging, coughing, and look like they’re dieing . . . These are probably mostly real. When you take a teaspoon or tablespoon of cinnamon, you work your tongue to wet it. If you don’t have a very ‘wet’ mouth, with a lot of saliva production, the fine dust can become airborne and drift into your lower sinuses. It only takes a tiny amount to send most people into sneezing or coughing fits. Some people also breath-in through their mouth, getting some dust into their lungs . . . this usually gets most people, the coughing includes the involuntary sharp breath intakes, which introduces more dust, and more coughing. Most people don’t notice the connection between breathing when you masticate.
The gagging (and worse) can be caused by the intensely sharp ‘bite’ of the cinnamon.
I’ve heard a lot of people dismiss all of this because they ‘take herbs in suspension every day’ or something to that effect. That’s the biggest difference. . . ‘in suspension’, so they’re already mixed into water, honey, oil, or something else that’s simply wet; no dust involved.