8 Biggest Irritations In Life Explained By Science

8. Why You Hate Hearing People Chew

Eating with one's mouth closed is hardly rocket science, but some people still seem unable to do it.

Luckily, if the sound of someone else's masticated burrito sends you nuts, it could just mean that you're a creative genius. One research projectseemed to show that those with higher levels of creativity are generally worse at "sensory gating", that is, blocking out irrelevant noises from their surroundings.

In the test, the 84 participants were asked to fill out questionnaires that assessed their creativity and divergent thinking abilities, and then were played a series of beeping noises whilst scientists measured their brain activity. They found that the more creative were less able to filter out the noises.

The study didn't specifically reference the white hot rage of hearing other people chew, and the distracting noises could range from anything from incessant throat clearing to foot tapping.

Either that, or the reason you hate hearing people chew is because it's straight up gross.