I know it's only a cartoon but this , supposed, geologist never seemed to lick the rock.
I'm having a hard time suspending my disbelief that a geologist could identify a rock without licking it!
@SeanPLynch Not licking, chewing! A quick (& very dirty!) test for the silt content of a mudstone is to chew a tiny bit between your front teeth.
Licking rocks? Not really a geologist's thing in my experience except when in a very dry desert area with exposures of halite.
@geomannie
definitely a desert thing!
I went to New Mexico Tech (school of Mines).
They lick to wet the surface to highlight striations and features. You could pour water on it, but that's not hard core!
@SeanPLynch My experience of desert geology is somewhat limited. I have stomped the Holocene-recent dune system sediments of Abu Dhabi but licking a pile of sand wasn't an attractive idea!