Yes that seems to be the logical explanation, though there is dispute over whether it's an effect of the detergent or the mint taste itself ... hence my planned non-mint sodium lauryl sulphate toothpaste experiment I think we should do some experimenting with mints too
If you're coming to the Yorkshire gathering, we should try a few things out. We would need an orange, some toothpaste, some mints and some weaker mints (Polo spearmint or something). We'd either need to space the three tests out or have three seperate people, so the results from one test doesn't affect the next
We would actually need several people to do all of the tests, spaced out over perhaps a day, so we can properly compare the results. Taste testing is notoriously subjective and inexact. It may also help if we perform double-blind control experiments alongside the actual tests so we can ensure our findings are robust. For the sake of thoroughness we need to get hold of two kinds of both mint and non-mint toothpastes; one of each with and without sodium lauryl sulphate and a wide range of different types and brands of mint. Naturally we will also need a large quantity of oranges or orange juice. Normally I would suggest finding another of each type of toothpaste containing a different chemical detergent, and also to experiment using alternative methods of tooth-cleaning such as using sodium bicarbonate, but we can leave those follow-up tests until the next gathering, we don't want to overdo it!
Back to pineapples... this is what I found from last summer's archives... Helsinki city streets at night...:H Teesside uni sweatshirt...:& and... A PINEAPPLE!..: