(re-post)
Grandkids can remind us of things we forgot we could do. Such was the case with sunflower seeds and how to open them without needing to use hands.
I forget what inspired the discussion – we tend to gladly embrace tangents and follow them where they will lead – but I told them how I could put a bunch of sunflower seeds in my mouth and let my teeth and tongue do the work of shelling the seeds, spitting the shells out, eating the seed that had been shelled, while keeping the rest in mouth and choosing the next one to be shelled and eaten.
They looked impressed and wanted to see me do it. The only sunflower seeds I had were the all black ones purchased for the birds which are not meant for humans; likely something to do with sanitation. So the show and tell had to be put on hold.
A few days ago I spotted these in the grocery store. I can still do it! I can hardly wait to share with the grandboys. I imagine contests will ensue to see how far we can spit the shells.
And I will tell them about riding on a bus in the States where the driver had a bag of sunflower seeds on the floor by his feet and a paper bag beside this and what he would do was pop a handful of the unshelled seeds in his mouth and work them around his teeth and tongue and then, a few minutes later, open his mouth and put all the shells into his hand and dispose of them in the paper bag. He then seemed to eat the shelled seeds so maybe he stored them in his cheeks like a chipmunk.