What Forbidden Snacks Make Your Mouth Water?

Remember the Tide Pod frenzy of 2018? Teens were salivating over the "forbidden fruit Gushers," with real-life injuries and deaths reported after a choice few sucked down a mouthful of caustic laundry detergent. They just looked too dang delicious.

Me, I was never tempted by the Tide Pods, juicy though the pods may be. No, my mouth waters at the thought of earthier fare: namely, sand and dirt. This isn't a pica thing; you're not gonna find me downing handfuls of gravel on My Strange Addiction. It's also not a flavor thing. It's more of a... well, a sensory thing. Something about a bag full of sand makes me want to bite down and chew it between my molars. Same goes for a mound of dirt at a construction site. I don't want to eat it, per se—I just want to bite it. I want to squish it around in my teeth. I want to feel the grit on my permanent retainer.

Sorry if that's too much info to kick off your holiday weekend. I do have a question for you, though: What non-edible item makes your mouth water? Do you covet the Tide Pod? Are you tempted to taste the hot good inside of your lava lamp? Want to run your tongue along the exterior of a brick house? Crave the toothsome bite of a plastic bottle? And do you really want to taste these things, or do you, like me, just want to... chew them?

There's method to my madness, I promise. Your responses will feed (!) an upcoming feature during which I, an idiot, try to get a scientist to explain these weird cravings. My question is: Why do humans crave things that are so obviously not edible? If you're comfortable sharing, I'd love to hear about your weirdest forbidden foods.