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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute.

“Well, that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

It’s a phrase you’ve likely used at one time or other. And chances are you were talking about something you found morally offputting, as opposed to, say, curdled¹ milk.

Scientists from the University of Toronto say that our reactions to immorality² and sour milk may be more similar than we think, because both elicit³ the same sort of grimace⁴ of disgust.

The scientists recorded the facial expressions of subjects who were asked to sip⁵ some awful-tasting beverages⁶; brews⁷ that were really bitter, salty, or sour. And the drinkers pulled some pretty awful faces, with noses wrinkling and lips curling in disgust. They also made very similar faces when they were shown some yucky photos: pictures of dog poop or dirty toilets.

Finally, the subjects played a game in which they were treated unfairly: say, given only one dollar while a partner got nine dollars. In addition to looking peeved⁸, they also trotted⁹ out those sneers¹⁰ of disgust. Findings published in the February 27th issue of Science.

The scientists conclude that our aversion to bad behavior and to bad food may have evolved from a primitive¹¹ defense¹² mechanism¹³ that nowadays protects us from both insult and injury.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.