Can you really taste without smelling something?

It has been said that the tongue can taste only 5 flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory. Without smelling, this is all we could taste. For example, I read about a teacher doing a test with different flavored suckers. She blindfolded her students and told them to taste each sucker and state which flavor of sucker they had tasted.

The results were that the students could not tell what flavor they had- they all tasted sweet. My class wanted to try this. We decided to do this with Jelly beans, instead of suckers. The results were that the students could not really taste the different flavors like the previous experiment had stated. Additionally, boys were more correct than the girls.

The class came up with the idea that maybe the boys either cheated, or, they had a bigger passage connecting the mouth and nasal passage. When the boys swallow, some of the scent would escape up to the olfactory nerves, allowing the boys to know what flavor the jelly bean was. We really aren't sure but this is a good theory. Attatched are some pictures from the activity.

What do YOU like to do in your spare time?

Yes, I know it is a weird concept, but, teachers are real people too. We have lives outside of the classroom just like you do. Some of you have actually seen that in action when you've seen me going through a drive-thru you work at or in the same aisle at Wally World. In fact, if you have seen me outside the classroom, you have probably seen me with at least one of my kids (I have two- Eli and Adeline) or with my husband Dave.
When I am not in my classroom, I am almost always doing something with my family. It could involve boardgames or cards, or, attending one of my kids ball games. Additionally, my husband and I have a hay business and enjoy being outdoors.