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You are here: Home / Your Body / Why Do Onions Make You Cry?

Why Do Onions Make You Cry?

April 13, 2020 by Karen Hill

Although onions taste really delicious on hamburgers or in a stew, the person cutting and cooking them usually sheds a great many tears first.

This happens because onions contain a strong smelling oil.

When the onion is peeled and cut, this oil escapes into the air in the form of vapor, or tiny particles of moisture.

When this vapor reaches your nose, the molecules get into the sensitive membranes lining your nostrils and irritate them.

This, in turn, irritates the tear ducts in your eyes and they produce tears.

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  • Why are Vidalia Onions so much sweeter than other types of Onions?
  • How do disaster recovery companies clean up oil spills in the ocean?

Filed Under: Your Body

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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