Cry Your Eyes Out: 10 Reasons Crying Is Good For You

The saying goes, “There’s no use crying over spilled milk.” But what about a chopped onion? Teary eyes and a runny nose are common when cutting up onions, although this response is not the product of emotion; when cut into, onions release a chemical irritant into the air that triggers the release of reflex tears from our lachrymal glands. These kinds of tears differ from emotional ones in that they do not contain stress hormones and their protein levels are much lower.

Thanks to advancements in science, however, growers have been able to cultivate a strain of onion that doesn’t make you cry when you chop it! Called “sunions,” this tearless vegetable took over 30 years of careful farming and research to breed. The creators took their time to produce something natural rather than rely on genetic modification, and now that patience is paying off.

No more crying while cutting an onion? What a time to be alive!