The sour powder immediately activated every saliva gland in my body.

Ashley, John and Amy tried to comfort me.

With red mouth, I took a drink from the can.

As I pulled the can away from my mouth and tilted the can down, I slurped the liquid from the tiny soda gutter around the can's edge.

Still, my backwash had left its mark. The lip of the can was splattered with saliva, and a small amount had made its way back into the can.

Drinking from a can requires your lips to wrap around a complex series of aluminum bumps. It is almost impossible to "pinch off" cleanly when your sip is finished.

Did you know that Shakespeare's theatre players reddened their tongues as well as wearing face makeup?

It is true. I read it on Willkipedia.

The next vessel to be tested was the sports bottle. The sliding dispenser top is infamous for its backwash-sucking properties. 

Meredith poured Kool-aid powder into her mouth, instantly staining her upper GI tract. 

With a mouthful of colored spit, she took a swig of the sports bottle. 

Look at that photo! There is no way she was going to be able to pull away from the sports bottle without having some red saliva sucked back into the bottle!

Only a long-distance, no-contact squirt, as seen on the Outdoor Life Network, seems to protect your water supply from spitty contamination.