The tongue is an important organ in our body. It can bend, twist and never seems to get tired. This fact led us to believe that our tongue has some exceptional qualities. However, the reason why it never seems to be tired is due to the way it is built.

The tongue is made up of an intricate set of muscles with some parts of the muscle performing the same task. Unlike some other muscles in our body which develop round the bone such as the bicep, the muscle of the tongue forms a flexible matrix, the muscular hydrostat. This structure can be compared to an elephant trunk.

Another reason which contributes to why we think that the tongue is the strongest muscle is its flexibility. Since it’s not attached to any bone, the tongue is able to move around further convincing us of its strength. Again this could not be farther away from the truth.

One way to measure strength is brute force; therefore the biggest muscle is the strongest. The largest muscles are the quadriceps on the front of one’s thighs and the gluteus maximus: what we all sit on. This is not all, as the jawbone is also a contender for the strongest muscle in the body as it is able to pull the bones in your jaw.

On the other hand, strength can be measured by the amount of overall work done during a lifetime. The muscle that wins the gold medal in this case is the hardest working muscle, the heart. It is continuously pumping blood to each corner of the body 24/7.

While the tongue may not be as strong as the jaw, heart or glutes, strengthening it can still be useful for people who have suffered a stroke and have trouble swallowing.

It is difficult to swallow, yet the tongue is definitely not the strongest muscle.