Your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body.

This fact is up for debate, so let me save you the hustle. See, a number of muscles in the human body could lay claim to this title, depending on how you measure strength.

If you were looking for the muscle that can exert the most force, the soleus (calf muscle) would emerge victorious, according to Gray’s Anatomy (the book, not the TV show). Without the soleus, we wouldn’t be able to stand, walk or show some dance moves. We would always be falling over ourselves if this muscle was not continuously pulling.

What about the muscle that can exert the most pressure? Maybe it befits the title, maybe not. The masseter, aka jaw muscle, has no rival in delivering the greatest amount of pressure, according to the Clinical Oral Science book. This is the muscle that enables you to chew and clench, and boy, can some people bite hard. Richard Hofmann of Florida made his way into the Guinness Book ofRecords in 1986 by registering a bite strength of 975 pounds, or 442 kilograms!

There are those who say the myometrium (uterine muscle) – used in childbirth – are the most powerful. However, this is discounted since the muscles are not used often or depend on some biochemical and hormonal factors.

So, where does this leave the tongue? The tongue can be said to be the strongest muscle in terms of versatility. This amazing body part combines its elasticity and force to enable us to speak, eat, lick or kiss – attributes you’ll probably need on your first date. In that regard, the tongue can be said to have no rival in terms of its deftness.