Airplanes are actually so loud that it affects the way you taste food. Sweet foods suffer the most; the noise of the airplane makes it harder to taste sweet things.

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But savory foods that rely on the "umami" flavor thrive, the researchers say. This explains why tomato juice is so popular on planes; it relies heavily on umami.

RoadWarriorVoices reports that salty, bitter and sour foods were unaffected.

The chorda tympani nerve may be to blame -- it stretches from your taste buds past your ear to the brain.

Read the full story from Cornell.

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