Pepto-Bismal Turns Your Tongue Black

You think I kid? Take a chew-able tablet at 3:00 a.m. and call me in the morning. Your tongue will be black.

Promise.

I should back it up a second. For those that may just be tuning in, I am on Day 6 of the Pantry Experiment and here is a basic summation of what I have ingested over the course of roughly 18 meals.

-Nasty smoothie with honey, flaxseed, Greek yogurt (aka- sweat sock drippings) and frozen banana peel (times 2)
-A mini-run in with 9 month old chili (Congrats! It's a boy!)
-And for the past 6 (yes, 6) meals, I have had chicken and dumplings

Which is the reason why I woke up this morning at about 3:00 a.m. feeling....ill (I'll be family friendly here description-wise). So I stumble, half stupefied and sans contacts into the bathroom, fumble around for those pepto- bismal tablet things and ate one. It was gross. But I was too tired to get water to wash that pink taste out of my mouth.

Fast forward to this morning, approximately 6:00 a.m. I stumble into the bathroom again, but this time to get ready for work and literally startle myself with a black (ohmygod) tongue!!!

Did I freak out? Yes
Did I almost cry? Maybe
Did I Google immediately? You bet your ass I did....my tongue was black!!!!!

This is a section taken from the frequently asked section of Pepto Bismals official Q&A page on their website: (I am a non-plagiarizer, I cite my sources)
I noticed that Pepto-Bismol sometimes darkens the tongue/stool. Why does this happen and how long does it last?
The active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol contains bismuth. When a small amount of bismuth combines with trace amounts of sulfur in your saliva and gastrointestinal tract, a black-colored substance (bismuth sulfide) is formed. This discoloration is temporary and harmless. It can last several days after you stop taking Pepto-Bismol. Individual bowel habits, your age (the intestinal tract slows down with age), and the amount of the product taken all help to determine how long Pepto-Bismol is in your system.

So, for future reference, if you take a pepto tablet and go to bed without washing out your mouth, you can expect to wake up in the morning looking like a giraffe.

(Taken from Cyberkid website)
They have 45-50 cm long blue-black tongues that wrap around leaves and pick them from the branch. The long tongue helps them get leaves just out of reach.The dark colour of the tongue means it does not get sunburnt when it is out of the mouth.