Split tongue video

Pierced and be-fanged woman demonstrates how she can wiggle her split tongue.

[#1 posted by EdWatkins, January 5, 2009 2:20 PM]

Awww... it's like a little pair of tongue hands.
Make them clap!!

[#2 posted by usonia, January 5, 2009 2:21 PM]

For some reason I imagine that a) she bites her tongue, by mistake, a lot and b) she's developed a heck of a lisp.

[#3 posted by jjasper, January 5, 2009 2:29 PM]

I dated someone with a split tongue once. It was interesting. And yes, she could do tricks like that.

[#4 posted by pinehead, January 5, 2009 2:31 PM]

I bet that girl does lisp pretty badly, but she seems cute enough that most people are probably willing to look past it.

But when she's 80 years old and trying to ask a store clerk where the Aspircream is, it's going to be annoying (and probably a bit rainy). Or when she's toddling through the line at Morrison's and a kid asks her why she's got little holes all over her face and neck, or why her ears appear to be falling off.

But for right now, I'm sure she has a world of opportunities working in the porn industry.

[#5 posted by Antinous / Moderator, January 5, 2009 2:34 PM]

jjasper,

Now I'm all confused.

[#6 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 2:34 PM]

I know several people with split tongues and none of them have a lisp. That said, I have heard of people developing a lisp after getting their tongues split.

[#7 posted by strumpet windsock, January 5, 2009 2:35 PM]

True enough Pinehead, but actually I was thinking even before I read your post I bet she'll have a lot of fun with her grandkids.

My grandpa had a mole on his forehead he got us to push. This looks waaaay more fun.

[#8 posted by grimc, January 5, 2009 2:39 PM]

@pinehead

The thing is, when she's 80 social norms are going to be a lot different. Not that she won't be...unique, but in 2060 what a kid considers weird and confusing isn't going to be what's weird and confusing in 2009. Not to mention plastic surgery nanobots.

Also: Unicorn chaser, please.

[#9 posted by novalis, January 5, 2009 2:40 PM]

I once met someone who did this at home.

[#10 posted by Antinous / Moderator, January 5, 2009 2:41 PM]

Old people here go to rock concerts and take kick-boxing classes. Y'all have rather rigid ideas about what it means to get old. Now get off my tongue!

[#11 posted by Tensegrity, January 5, 2009 2:45 PM]

Is the unicorn chaser going to have a split horn?

[#12 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 2:46 PM]

@4 Pinhead (seemingly apt psuedonym btw) Split tongues do not cause lisps in most people who have them done (my personal experience being less than 1 in 100 end up lisping as a result and even then its very minor).

It looks to me from the video that she is still getting used to some of the movements - I know some of the things I can do with mine now (11 years) took me years to get down smoothly.

For those with any interest beyond making the typical 'how will she get job' or what it will be like when she is older here is a short article I wrote a couple years on the history of tongue splitting (at the effective 10 year anniversary of its modern discovery):

http://www.bmezine.com/news/lizardman/20050726.html

[#13 posted by grimc, January 5, 2009 2:49 PM]

My grandpa had a mole on his forehead he got us to push.

Were the results the same or different than pulling his finger?

[#14 posted by jameslgrant, January 5, 2009 2:51 PM]

Having been involved with a girl who had the tongue split done:

- She did not have a lisp. In fact, there was no visible sign of the mod in daily life unless she purposely stuck her tongue out.

- She was an amazing kisser. Sadly, we never put her talents to the test in any other manner before we stopped seeing each other.

[#15 posted by DeWynken, January 5, 2009 2:53 PM]

Ahh..my lil fanged poppet..

[#16 posted by RedShirt77, January 5, 2009 2:53 PM]

I know as a red blooded American man I should only be thinking "cooool". But after watching the video some part of me can't help but remember that scene from star trek 3 when those weird fleshy giant bacteria were found in Spocks coffin.

Another part of me wants to see a video of her eating an ice cream cone.

[#17 posted by devophill, January 5, 2009 2:53 PM]

#12 - The Lizardman-

I'll bet there are people who are seeing you for the first time via that link going "OMG! I thought it was just a clever name!" :)

[#18 posted by TooGoodToCheck, January 5, 2009 2:55 PM]

Someone posted a do-it-yourself tongue bifurcation on instructables:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-perform-your-own-Tongue-Bifurcation/

But BMEzine suggests that an oral surgeon might be the way to go
http://www.bmezine.com/tsplitfaq.html

I've got to admit, I'm really intrigued by the video. I haven't done much body mod (minor piercings only so far) but that looks really freaking cool.

BME claims that there shouldn't be much of a lisp. I'd also wonder if it's the kind of thing that you could get through a job interview without revealing it. I'm still kind of tethered by the assumption that I might need to fit in to mainstream society at some point, so I wouldn't get any tattoos, piercings, or other body mod that can't be covered. Which actually kind of sucks.

[#19 posted by Sea Daddy, January 5, 2009 2:56 PM]

Man, what's her phone number? I gotta get to know her!

[#20 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 2:56 PM]

Here is another story of someone who split his tongue at home. And he says that he pronounced more clearly after the removal, because he was waring a tongue piercing before.

http://www.ishiboo.com/~nirva/Mods/tonguesplit/

[#21 posted by pinehead, January 5, 2009 2:59 PM]

@12
Your adventures in body modification seem to have affected your reading comprehension.

When you add an "e" to the end of "pin," it becomes in "pine." A pin is a thin sliver of metal. Pine, meanwhile, is a type of tree from which wood of the same name is harvested.

Also, if you'd slow your roll and check some of the other comments, you'd see I'm not the only one thinking about the girl's potential for lisping. I don't care to read your article after seeing your attitude here.

[#22 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 2:59 PM]

@17 If they are, I bet its mainly the tourists, most boingers seem to at least know how applicable the name is via some mentions I have had here (including a shot of me with my old snake cricket through my head being featured) and/or reading my profile. I know that most of my audience reads BB to the point where I can use it as a reference onstage and not worry about people being at all confused

[#23 posted by Shannon, January 5, 2009 3:01 PM]

One of the parents at my daughter's school (she's five) told their kid that I have a split tongue so now every time I'm there they run up to me and chant "show us your tongue! show us your tongue!"

They also love my eyeball tattoo...

[#24 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 3:05 PM]

@18 An oral surgeon willing to do it in the US or Canada is currently rarer than a free ride on a unicorn due to peer and legal pressures that have come to bear in the last 11 years.

The tie-off method is needlessly long and painful - if it isn't a hardhsip ritual you are after you should try other methods. Also, the tie off method gives probably the least chance of good long term results. I wouldn't use that instructable as much more than a trivia note.

There are a number of body modification practioners however who do offer the procedure that I often refer people to who want it done. While it is possible to perform it successfully as a DIY surgery, in the event of complications a professional makes all the difference.

[#25 posted by gutterball, January 5, 2009 3:06 PM]

Her girlfriend must be pleased with the mod!

[#26 posted by cenobite, January 5, 2009 3:06 PM]

Woo.

You can watch my videos getting my split done:
1st time(quick): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJgUnbx57Xc

2nd time(longer but includes bloody suturing at the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWGgTqWuJl8

P.S. I have no lisp

[#27 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 3:06 PM]

I like those fangs. I wonder if hers are permanent or removable like the ones I made myself last year. The tongue is nuts.

[#28 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 3:13 PM]

@20 You're right, I missed the 'e' - my bad, sue me.

As for my attitude, it was provoked far more by the what about when she is old and porn references you made than the ignorance about lisping. I responded to the lisping aspect because it was factually relevant.

Please don't read the article, I wouldn't want any facts to clutter up your prejudiced reality.

[#29 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 3:15 PM]

now that is sexy, i wonder if i can do this if i split my tongue too

[#30 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 3:27 PM]

@28 Control is, like many tongue related things, partially genetic but also depends greatly upon the depth of the split with deeper splits exhibiting more potential for movements.

[#31 posted by Robert, January 5, 2009 3:37 PM]

@27 Anonymous, those are removable. The Lizardman's filed teeth are about what you get if you go "natural". The ones she is wearing are theatrical-quality removable fangs, probably made of dental composite and custom-fit. I had a set made by a local special effects artist. They fit so well that they don't even need denture adhesive.

The process:

1. Make a dental mold of your teeth. This is a rubbery negative of your teef!

2. Fill the mold with plaster. This makes a positive teef sculpture.

3. Mix up some dental composite and mold some fangs on the plaster canines (or other teefs). Let dry.

4. Check for fit. If they seem loose, brush a tiny bit of uncured composite inside, fit onto your teef, hold for a while, and you'll have perfectly-fitting secure fangs.

Fanks!

[#32 posted by Antinous / Moderator, January 5, 2009 3:39 PM]

Lizardman,

Do you own a copy of Folklore of the Teeth?

[#33 posted by VVelox, January 5, 2009 3:42 PM]

@#14 posted by jameslgrant

From the various people I've been involved with, I feel it is safe to say it does not make a difference.

[#34 posted by Dillenger69, January 5, 2009 3:48 PM]

That is both super hot and creepy all at the same time. Too bad she's wearing those ugly-ass bug-eye sunglasses.

[#35 posted by MrJM, January 5, 2009 3:55 PM]

Rvltng.

[#36 posted by angrystan, January 5, 2009 4:11 PM]

Folks will always know during which decade she was in her 20's.

[#37 posted by zuvembi, January 5, 2009 4:19 PM]

#34

I'd go with 85% hot, 15% creepy. I think I could manage to get used to it though... Also, I'll agree with the sunglasses comment.

[#38 posted by ridl, January 5, 2009 4:32 PM]

Dude. The Lizardman is the Lizardman. Dude. Whoah.

I'm feeling a little starstruck.

[#39 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 4:46 PM]

@32 Antinous - no I don't but I am going to look it up now, just based on the cool title. Do you reccomend it?

@38 RIDL - please don't be starstruck, if you dig what I do that is great - thank you - but I wouldn't anyone to be starstruck over me

[#40 posted by iamcantaloupe, January 5, 2009 5:12 PM]

Tongue splitting is freaking awesome. One of my favorite body mods, altho I'm still too chicken shit to do any myself. (Also I'm aware of my incredibly indecisive fickle nature.)

On a side note, I've only recently discovered that I find surface piercings in the chest/neck area crazy hot.

[#41 posted by strumpet windsock, January 5, 2009 5:15 PM]

Grimc...

Nah, he made his eyes move back and forth and his tongue pop out.

[#42 posted by Antinous / Moderator, January 5, 2009 5:55 PM]

Folklore of the Teeth is a 1920s folksy-anthro book of everything that anybody anywhere has done to decorate their teeth. I read it in my high school library in the 70s.

[#43 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 5:57 PM]

I've had my tongue split for a few years now. Never had a lisp, even when it was new. It's really not noticeable either, my own mother didn't know about it for around a year, and only found out when I stuck my tongue out at someone.

My husband says it makes a huge and awesome difference in french kissing, not so much in anything sexual though.

[#44 posted by chumpmeat, January 5, 2009 6:21 PM]

Dillenger69,

See, she's wearing those big sunglasses because she doesn't want people to recognize her.

[#45 posted by Anonymous, January 5, 2009 6:23 PM]

Hmmm....
I'm torn (get it?), the oral sex benefits of a split toungue are probably negated by the whole fang thing.
Nevertheless, I'm very jealous of her boyfriend...

[#46 posted by CopyrightMe, January 5, 2009 6:32 PM]

I guess I'm the old-fashioned one here. I support her right to surgically modify herself any way she wants, but DAAAAAMN! It's disgusting.

[#47 posted by sfazzios, January 5, 2009 6:59 PM]

Funny. I saw this right after reading this article that was posted on slashdot:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401941_pf.html

I can't wait to see all of the amazing body mods once stem cells become cheap and available.

[#48 posted by doggo, January 5, 2009 7:48 PM]

Alls I know iz I wanna kiss her. An I dasn't care if she is half my age.

[#49 posted by cha0tic, January 5, 2009 8:03 PM]

Ahhh. The old "What're you going to look like when you're 80?" argument.

If I make it that far: Wrinkly, Wizened, Bald and toothless probably. So what difference will the blue blurs of old tattoos and the stretched ears make? Not a jot.

FWIW the first thing I thought when I saw that video was OMG! TEH BLO JOBS MUST BE TEH AWESOME!

[#50 posted by Tom Hale, January 5, 2009 8:15 PM]

MAKE magazine made a video showing how to make your own fangs - posted just before last Halloween.

[#51 posted by Pauliebaby, January 5, 2009 8:16 PM]

The Horror! The Horror! (faints, head hits keyboard) n bvh

[#52 posted by EthylCannes, January 5, 2009 8:17 PM]

@39 For some reason I still have the ratty old towel you left at me n' yttrx's house during rabcon '99. Do you think I could eBay it to starstruck BB'ers for a bunch of money and donate it to charity? :D "Authentic Lizardman Towel! Never Washed! Slightly crusty!"

I only worry that someone will try and clone you from DNA traces left on it. My greatest hope would be that the auction would get as famous as that damned Haunted Picture thing.

What say, BB comment squad? Do we start the bidding at .05?

[#53 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 8:26 PM]

Not to hijack this into plugging my old BME column but here's one about the constant pestering about when we're 80 (which assumes a lot - given some lifestyles, including my own, reaching 80 could be a major achievement)

www.bmezine.com/news/lizardman/20040826.html

As to oral sex, a split tongue is simply an extra toy but it does not grant any instant skill(s) or improvements. Most accounts tend to support it impacting kissing and cunnilingus moreso than blowjobs

[#54 posted by The Lizardman, January 5, 2009 8:42 PM]

@52 My own clone army sounds kind of sweet.

I only fear recovering full memory of that night - lots of holes thanks to the drinking and partying after the ball of whacks. Waking up on a floor you only vaguely recognize and then driving back to NY hung over was not fun even if everything that preceeded it was.

[#55 posted by VVelox, January 5, 2009 9:46 PM]

@#53 posted by The Lizardman

In regards to blow jobs, I found it to be some what less impressive. A different feeling, but one can't exert as much pressure with the tip of one's tongue.

I like a whole tongue. =^.^=

[#56 posted by minTphresh, January 5, 2009 10:11 PM]

lizardmon! you gonna be down for cigar city with jim rose and crew? if so, i will see u there!

[#57 posted by cha0tic, January 5, 2009 10:31 PM]

@#53,55

Yeah Yeah Yeah :)

So you've had someone with a split tongue give you a BJ and it wasn't THAT much greater.

How much greater can a BJ get? :)

Let me keep my fantasy please :)

[#58 posted by Takuan, January 5, 2009 10:45 PM]

amateurs
http://a3.vox.com/6a00d4141ce4d16a4700e398aab80b0002-320pi

[#59 posted by jtegnell, January 5, 2009 11:08 PM]

Thexthy

[#60 posted by Skullhunter, January 5, 2009 11:40 PM]

Lizardman,

It's always a pleasure to read your posts. Especially when you're hoisting some narrow-minded person on their own petard.

Personally, if I actually live to see 80, I'm not going to give a damn what anyone thinks of my piercings, ink, or any other work I get between now and then. This meat body is mine, I have to live in it, I'll make it look the way I want.

[#61 posted by Takuan, January 6, 2009 12:03 AM]

and may the Seal of Peace rest on ye both. (you know who you are)

[#62 posted by eclectro, January 6, 2009 1:47 AM]

#11 @ Tensegrity = win.

[#63 posted by Anonymous, January 6, 2009 1:51 AM]

That is wickedly hot.

[#64 posted by BastardNamban, January 6, 2009 2:00 AM]

@ Lizardman,

Long time fan of yours, cool to see you read BB!
Hope you don't mind, I've got a couple ?s for ya and any of the others here that split the tongue.

I've seriously wanted to get my tongue split by an oral surgeon, and I've read your FAQs some time ago, but some things still puzzle me-

1. I often go to the dentist to get fillings (I drank too much pop as a kid)- ignoring my dentist's reactions, how do you deal with keeping your tongue down/out of the way during dentalwork, especially for long things like root canals? I'm worried I'd lose control of my tongue and it would hit the drill or something. Also, how would they numb the tongue- would it take a shot for each side?

2. I like cigars, wine, coffee, and spicy food, etc- Can having my tongue split increase or decrease my taste sensitivity, or make it possible to taste 2 things at once?

3. What things have you found it more difficult to do with a split tongue?

4. How far can the tongue be split before lisping becomes an issue?

Sorry to hijack, just get few chances to ask about things like this!

[#65 posted by Beanolini, January 6, 2009 3:49 AM]

Split tongues are so passe, the bifid uvula is for the hardcore.

[#66 posted by Anonymous, January 6, 2009 4:03 AM]

I'm not going to make any arguments against getting the split tongue thing done I have enjoyed seeing and hearing LizardMan on TV shows (Ripley's) and radio shows (Opie and Anthony). I find him fascinating and funny.

In my humble opinion the tongue split is revolting. This is obviously my problem and not the majority here.

It is probably like when people complain about the way I bite my fingernails, chew gum or talk with my mouthful. These quirks bother other people and not me. Tongue splitting is something that grosses me out on an irrational level.

Anyway, rock on everyone.

[#67 posted by Shannon, January 6, 2009 4:37 AM]

Because I get up earlier in the morning than the Lizardman...

1. It won't make any difference -- you will have no problem controlling your tongue. Everything stays the same. Anesthesia should stay the same, since it's already done on each side, usually with a nerve block in the jaw.

2. Tongue splitting has no effect on taste.

3. Nothing. It's really a non-issue.

4. Like the Lizardman said, lisping is really rare.

[#68 posted by Ryan Waddell, January 6, 2009 6:01 AM]

God DAMN that is hot. Not a fan of the fangs, but she is just CUTE.

[#69 posted by bobbcorr, January 6, 2009 8:05 AM]

Doctor: OK, you may have strep throat, just stick out your tongue and say. . .AAAAAAAAAA!

Lady: Aaaaaa.

Doctor: AARAAAAAAAAAAA!

Lady: Yes, aaaaa.

(lather, rinse, repeat)

[#70 posted by Matt Volatile, January 6, 2009 9:33 AM]

Sonme people have been walking the earth with split tongues for over TEN YEARS now, and BoingBoing finally catches up? You're usually so ahead of the game.

The first (brief) published history of the pratice, written by Matt Lodder (that's me!) features in "The Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body" (Greenwood Press, edited by Victoria Pitts-Taylor.

[#71 posted by The Lizardman, January 6, 2009 9:54 AM]

@56 - Sorry, I won't be there. I haven't worked with Jim since 2001 and like most people who have ever worked with him, I won't do it again.

@63 Shannon covered most of it, but..

1 - Dentists have told me it actually makes it easier for them because of how it can move out of the way. As for numbing, one shot for the whole tongue

2 - Tatse for me is more sensitive on the interior of the split (presumably because thats where the mucosa was pulled together creating a more concentrated area of taste buds?) It is possible to taste independently with each tip but the overall tastes muddle together for me. I can put salt on one and sugar on the other and tell which is which but I still taste a mix of sugar and salt

3 - Nothing really

4 - Depth of split has no apparent relation to lisping which is, as mentioned, quite rare

@68 Matt, not to quibble but a search shows the publication as 2008, that wouldn't be the first published history. Regardless, I'd love to see the relevant text and know what you used as for source materials. Personal / professional interest.

[#72 posted by Tabascoy, January 6, 2009 11:23 AM]

I think this woman looks incredibly silly. Yay fellatio.

[#73 posted by el_beardo, January 6, 2009 11:28 AM]

Seriously, dudes, she made "it" move!

[#74 posted by Raj77, January 6, 2009 11:56 AM]

*lusts*

[#75 posted by Gilbert Wham, January 6, 2009 2:25 PM]

@#30: that's exactly what I was going to ask; presumably these kind of tricks are easier if you are a tongue roller, yes?

[#76 posted by jjasper, January 6, 2009 3:10 PM]

Antinous - confused about what? My orientation?

[#77 posted by Antinous / Moderator, January 6, 2009 3:15 PM]

You were rather vociferous about it in a previous thread.

[#78 posted by Mekanikal, January 6, 2009 11:55 PM]

I find the fact that she has learned to use both sides of her tongue independently fascinating. It's almost like knowing what it's like to control a 3rd or 4th arm.

[#79 posted by Beanolini, January 7, 2009 1:06 AM]

#70, Matt; #71, Lizardman:

Was a split tongue not featured in the 'Modern Primitives' book (late 80s)?

The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology certainly mentioned tongue splitting in 1999 ("split to the base", apparently).

[#80 posted by jjasper, January 7, 2009 7:03 AM]

Antinous - I'm fairly sure I identified as queer, or a member of the GLBT community. I don't identify as gay because I'm not. I'm also not a lesbian, or trans-person, nor am I straight.

C'mon. I'm sure you can guess ;-)

[#81 posted by The Lizardman, January 7, 2009 9:25 AM]

@79 A split tongue was not featured in modern primitives, the book predates any documented tongue splitting by several years (First documented occurred in 1996 in Italy - a very shallow split via scalpel). It did however feature a split penis. My split was done in 1997 and subsequently probably became the most famous as I did media for my show and helped others get the the procedure done within the body modification community (see the BME article I linked earlier for more history) I believe the oral surgeon who performed mine and almost all of the others done via laser did publish something about it which may have been the beginning of the backlash as his peers more or less forced him onto not only no longer offering the procedure but even denying having done it.

[#82 posted by jjasper, January 7, 2009 11:06 AM]

Now, if you could get him to install a laser into *you* that would be extreme :-)

[#83 posted by The Lizardman, January 7, 2009 2:39 PM]

@82 I have worn a laser pointer in my septum piercing and created a spotlight by running a bulb on a wire through my head (nose to mouth) and focusing the beam via a crystal ball in mouth. Would you count either of those?

[#84 posted by jjasper, January 7, 2009 3:06 PM]

I think I'd count them twice. That's awesome!

[#85 posted by Matt Volatile, January 7, 2009 3:20 PM]

@Lizardman

There were mentions of tongue splitting academic literature (Mark Beneke mentioned it in a short case history) years before my (very short, very narrative) piece, and of course it's been written about online, in the popular press and in places like Body Play, but as far as I know mine was the first academically-published account of the history of tongue splitting. I synthesised yours and Shannon's BME articles, the article about Dustin in Body Play and added a little bit of original research... I'd be glad to send you the text; I'll email you over the weekend.

[#86 posted by The Lizardman, January 7, 2009 3:26 PM]

@84 Thanks, glad you think so

@85 Thank you Matt, I look forward to checking it out

[#87 posted by Matt Volatile, January 7, 2009 3:37 PM]

Excellent. I should have been clear in my first post, of course -- "published" means something a little different in this academic bubble I inhabit than it does in the real world. :)

Do you still use the spidergod aol address?

[#88 posted by The Lizardman, January 7, 2009 4:45 PM]

@88 I have some experience with that bubble myself. I haven't used the spidergod alias / email for years (it is long since defunct). Please use the address linked on my site: www.thelizardman.com

[#89 posted by Anonymous, January 12, 2009 6:11 AM]

Here she is swingin':
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/jessica-suicidewmv/2294945765