When she hears violins, she also feels them on her face. Trumpets make themselves known on the back of her neck. In addition to feeling the sounds of musical instruments on her body, Crane sees letters and numbers in brilliant hues. Sean Day, PhD, tastes in technicolor.
Mango sherbet appears as a wall of lime green with thin wavy strips of cherry red.
Steamed gingered squid produces a large glob of bright orange foam, about four feet away, directly in front of me. Crane and Day share an extraordinary sensory condition called synesthesia. Some synesthetes hear, smell, taste or feel pain in color. Others taste shapes, and still others perceive written digits, letters and words in color. And many synesthetes experience more than one form of the condition.