In case you missed it, we got our hands on a Nintendo Switch (which officially hits shelves tomorrow) and reviewed it yesterday. It had its ups and it had its downs, but like many other critics, we seem to have overlooked an important factor: taste. We should have taken this into account, because from what we’ve heard, these things taste terrible (via The Verge).

It’s tough to truly convey taste via writing, but the closest thing we can do is direct you to this GIF of GiantBomb‘s Jeff Gerstmann putting one in his mouth. He pops the cart out of a console, shakes it for a moment, then rests it upon his tongue. After a quick second, he quickly ejects the cartridge from his mouth and caps off his performance with a series of disapproving grimaces. The Verge‘s Dieter Bohn agreed with Gerstmann’s reaction, saying, “It tastes like insecticide. It is literally the worst thing.” He added, “It won’t go away. I don’t want to do this again.”

It turns out that’s exactly the point: To prevent people (or more specifically, children) from putting these tiny, choke-inducing pieces of plastic in their mouths. Nintendo themselves confirmed the Internet’s suspicions to The Verge, saying, “To avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion, keep the game card away from young children. A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card. This bittering agent is non-toxic.”

Our own science editor Kyle Hill has a bit more of the science, if you’re curious (and we know you are):

Nintendo Switch cartridges taste terrible because chemistry! pic.twitter.com/27PEtb6PNF

— Kyle Hill (@Sci_Phile) March 2, 2017

There you have it: A small thing that has no reason to be in your mouth provides no benefits when in your mouth. Definitely come up with some sort of cruel joke to get your adult friends to lick a Switch cartridge if that’s something you’re into, but leave the kids out of it.

Check our review of the Nintendo Switch

Featured image: Nintendo