---
slug: why-onions-make-you-cry
passed: 2026-10-14
by: the assay line (research/assay-line/cited-1014/), Codex fixer directed by claude-assaying-boyle-1014; source record by Codex, checked by Codex
checked: 70
confirmed: 52
wrong: 18
unverifiable: 0
observed: 0
stale: 0
---

This was the directed correction pass for the 19 items in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/triage.json against the layer at 296d046f17. The fixer re-read the evidence for every triage item before editing, corrected the layer files for nine WRONG and nine MINOR items, and rejected X12 with evidence. X1 remains open for the false shared TV narration, with a board note pending after repair review on 2026-10-14. The 51 CONFIRMED lines from the checker's N2 record are retained with their original scope and qualifications; they are credited to that source re-read, not claimed as 51 new independent checks. The wrong count includes the nine MINOR fixes. This limited pass does not resolve the other evidence gaps in N2 or authorize changes to shared files.

## Claims

- WRONG | X1: Silence that one enzyme and the onion keeps every bit of its flavour and stops your tears entirely. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Eady 2008, Abstract, Results (Volatile Sulfur Compounds) and Discussion, re-read: sulfur products and aroma changed; absence of tears was an author observation on small tissue samples. The unchanged-flavour and universal no-tears promise is false.
- WRONG | X2: silencing that one enzyme stops the tears while leaving the flavour intact. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | The same Eady passages contradict unchanged flavour. The two-enzyme explanation remains supported; the page-specific plain description is separate from shared plain-button code.
- WRONG | X3: Silence that one enzyme and the onion keeps all its flavour but stops your tears. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Eady reports altered aroma and redistributed sulfur products. The metadata repeats the same false unchanged-flavour promise.
- WRONG | X4: Switch that one enzyme off and the onion keeps all of its flavour chemistry and stops your tears entirely. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Eady reports reduced LF and changed sulfur chemistry and aroma. The markdown body promises preservation of all flavour chemistry and complete tear prevention.
- MINOR | X5: Tear-gas reaching your eye 100% | public/strata/why-onions-make-you-cry/index.html; verify-why-onions-make-you-cry.mjs | Current authored HTML initializes crush=80, temp=25 and all tear multipliers to 1. The relative model yields 80%, not the static fallback 100%; this is display consistency, not measured exposure.
- MINOR | X6: Flavour compounds (in the food) 60% | public/strata/why-onions-make-you-cry/index.html; verify-why-onions-make-you-cry.mjs | The same default model multiplies mixing 0.8 by flavour partition 0.6 and 100, yielding 48%, not the static fallback 60%. These are illustrative outputs.
- WRONG | X7: Substrate ( isoalliin ) sits locked in the vacuole; the enzyme alliinase waits in the cytoplasm. | https://agris.fao.org/search/en/providers/122514/records/647124503c73b155c8497467 | Lancaster and Collin 1981, primary abstract re-read through FAO AGRIS: alliinase is in vacuoles and alkyl cysteine sulfoxides are in cytoplasm. The page and verifier comment reverse these locations.
- WRONG | X8: the onion's familiar smell precursors, pyruvate + ammonia | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3571771/; https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC3571771/fullTextXML | The 2012 volatiles paper, Introduction re-read through Europe PMC XML: pyruvate and ammonia are separate alliinase products; sulfenic acids feed the thiosulfinate and later sulfur-volatiles pathway. The atom-balanced products remain unchanged.
- MINOR | X9: a remedy that targets a real step in the cascade drops the tear-gas | public/strata/why-onions-make-you-cry/index.html; verify-why-onions-make-you-cry.mjs | The authored remedy array has empty setters for water, candle and root. Water explicitly describes a partial mechanism despite no gauge change. Only represented controls promise model changes; no effect size is invented.
- MINOR | X10: Everything else is exact bookkeeping. | research/why-onions-make-you-cry/verify.mjs | The verifier calculates mass and temperature ratios but supplies lfsDiscoveryYear=2002 and lfsSilencingFold=1544 as literature constants. Those values and molecular identities are cited inputs, not arithmetic results.
- MINOR | X11: What's proven here: the molecular identities | research/why-onions-make-you-cry/verify.mjs | The verifier supplies formulas as constants and tested lfMass > 0 under an identity label. Positive mass and matching atom counts cannot establish molecular identities. Arithmetic checks are retained and described accurately.
- CONFIRMED | X12: that silencing it yields a tearless-but-flavourful onion (Eady 2008) | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | REJECTED after re-reading Eady 2008, Results (Volatile Sulfur Compounds): small-sample observations found no tears and a sweeter aroma, while chemical analysis retained flavour-producing sulfur products. The broad summary asserts neither unchanged flavour nor a completed taste panel. Formal taste panels being planned does not negate those observations.
- WRONG | X13: the gas never reaches the eye. | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Stemwedel 2014, Results and Discussion re-read: tears still occurred in the single fan trial. The local illustrative model also retains nonzero transport (0.30). Neither the trial nor that assumed multiplier establishes measured percentage efficacy.
- MINOR | X14: Goggles (or a snug face shield) | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Stemwedel 2014, Conclusion re-read: protection requires goggles that seal around the eyes. A snug face shield is not established as an equivalent gas seal.
- WRONG | X15: the tear-gas is simply never built | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23779 | Eady reports LF reduction after RNAi; Kato reports residual LF and reduced alliinase activity. Complete LFS absence is a separate ideal model state. Their sensory observations do not establish zero LF.
- MINOR | X16: working by running water washes some away before it can volatilise. | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Block 1985, final kitchen-methods paragraph re-read in the indexed author-uploaded text: water contact washes away soluble LF. Nearby running water does not supply that contact. The separate knife-dulling assertion is not validated by this correction.
- MINOR | X17: Rinse / cut near running water | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | The same Block passage specifies actual contact under running water. The label must match its washing mechanism.
- MINOR | X18: The basal plate (root end) is richest in the sulfur compounds and enzymes | https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | NOA October 2025 newsletter, page 1 Onion hacks image, independently rendered and read: the root-end concentration claim concerns sulfur compounds. It supplies no enzyme-distribution evidence. Removing the extra enzyme assertion does not assert an enzyme peak elsewhere.
- WRONG | X19: or grow a low-pungency line, and the tear-gas is simply never built | https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23779 | Kato 2016, Abstract and Results (Chemical analysis) re-read: LF was approximately 7.5-fold lower and the affected enzyme was alliinase. The separate panel observation of no tearing does not establish zero LF.
- CONFIRMED | Cutting an onion makes you cry because a dedicated enzyme (lachrymatory-factor synthase, discovered only in 2002) builds a volatile tear-gas from a fragment the first enzyme makes. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #1(dek-two-enzymes): Imai: "specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase"; publication date "17 October 2002". Eady identifies the alliinase-derived substrate as 1-propenyl sulfenic acid.
- CONFIRMED | The tear-gas in an onion isn't made by accident: a dedicated enzyme builds it. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #5(social-enzyme): Imai: "specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase"; publication date "17 October 2002". Eady identifies the alliinase-derived substrate as 1-propenyl sulfenic acid.
- CONFIRMED | An onion's tear-gas is not an accident of cutting. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #6(intro-not-accident): Imai: "specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase"; publication date "17 October 2002". Eady identifies the alliinase-derived substrate as 1-propenyl sulfenic acid.
- CONFIRMED | A second, dedicated enzyme [punctuation omitted] lachrymatory-factor synthase, discovered only in 2002 [punctuation omitted] builds it from a fragment the first enzyme makes. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #7(intro-second): Imai: "specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase"; publication date "17 October 2002". Eady identifies the alliinase-derived substrate as 1-propenyl sulfenic acid.
- CONFIRMED | The tear-gas is not formed spontaneously the moment your knife frees the onion's sulfur compounds. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #8(body-spontaneous): Imai: "specifically synthesized by a previously undiscovered enzyme, lachrymatory-factor synthase"; publication date "17 October 2002". Eady identifies the alliinase-derived substrate as 1-propenyl sulfenic acid.
- CONFIRMED | A clean cut with a sharp knife severs cells along one plane; crushing or grating ruptures the whole tissue, mixing far more enzyme with substrate. | https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC12557780/fullTextXML; https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #18(clean-cut): NOA: "reduce cell damage" with a sharp knife. The primary cutting study reports "faster or blunter blades significantly increase both the number and energy of ejected droplets" and compression before rupture. This supports the qualitative mechanism, not a measured enzyme-mixing multiplier.
- CONFIRMED | Cold slows the enzymes (Arrhenius) and keeps the gas from evaporating (Clausius–Clapeyron). | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4514.1995.tb00520.x; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #19(cold-rate-volatility): The qualitative chemical rate and volatility mechanisms are supported. Hanum reports positive alliinase activation energy, "16.6 kJ/mol"; Block: "Chilling an onion reduces the volatility of the lacrimatory factor." The page labels its numerical constants illustrative. The source record supplies an incomplete or irrelevant excerpt for some of these entries; see the Source-record review in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/N2-codex.md.
- CONFIRMED | switching the LFS gene OFF kills the tears but the flavour stays (the sulfur is simply routed elsewhere). | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #22(lfs-off-flavour): Read as the stated ideal of absent LFS and persistence of flavour-producing sulfur chemistry, not identical flavour or a measured RNAi outcome. Eady: "In the absence of LFS, the unstable 1-propenyl sulfenic acid would undergo spontaneous self-condensation to di-1-propenyl thiosulfinate". Imai requires LFS for LF.
- CONFIRMED | Chilling, by contrast, mutes both during the cut. | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4514.1995.tb00520.x; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #23(chill-both): The qualitative chemical rate and volatility mechanisms are supported. Hanum reports positive alliinase activation energy, "16.6 kJ/mol"; Block: "Chilling an onion reduces the volatility of the lacrimatory factor." The page labels its numerical constants illustrative. The source record supplies an incomplete or irrelevant excerpt for some of these entries; see the Source-record review in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/N2-codex.md.
- CONFIRMED | with the second enzyme present you cry; without it the very same sulfur becomes flavour and nothing else. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #24(fork-exclusive): Read as the stated ideal of absent LFS and persistence of flavour-producing sulfur chemistry, not identical flavour or a measured RNAi outcome. Eady: "In the absence of LFS, the unstable 1-propenyl sulfenic acid would undergo spontaneous self-condensation to di-1-propenyl thiosulfinate". Imai requires LFS for LF.
- CONFIRMED | Apart, nothing happens [punctuation omitted] which is why a whole onion never stings. | https://agris.fao.org/search/en/providers/122514/records/647124503c73b155c8497467 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #26(intact-onion): Lancaster and Collin conclude that the compounds are "prevented from acting in the intact protoplast by compartmentation". This supports intact, undamaged cells; the reversed locations are assessed separately.
- CONFIRMED | the knife ruptures the cell, mixing them | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #27(knife-mixing): Eady: "When the tissues of any Allium species are disrupted, these amino acid derivatives are cleaved by the enzyme alliinase".
- CONFIRMED | Lachrymatory-factor synthase isomerises the sulfenic acid into syn-propanethial-S-oxide [punctuation omitted] a small, volatile sulfine. It evaporates, drifts up, and reaches your eye. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6108529; https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/pso/psoh.htm | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #29(lfs-isomerisation): Eady names "the conversion of 1-propenyl sulfenic acid to LF"; the second Plant Physiology source names the onion lachrymator and its isoalliin precursor. Bristol independently describes the volatile propanethial S-oxide reaching the eye.
- CONFIRMED | With no LFS, the sulfenic acids instead condense into thiosulfinates [punctuation omitted] the savoury, oniony flavour molecules. Same sulfur, no tear-gas. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #30(thiosulfinates): Read as the stated ideal of absent LFS and persistence of flavour-producing sulfur chemistry, not identical flavour or a measured RNAi outcome. Eady: "In the absence of LFS, the unstable 1-propenyl sulfenic acid would undergo spontaneous self-condensation to di-1-propenyl thiosulfinate". Imai requires LFS for LF.
- CONFIRMED | Your brain answers the only way it can: flush it out with tears. | https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/pso/psoh.htm | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #32(tear-reflex): Bristol: "Tears are then produced in order to dilute the irritant." The sentence describes the protective tearing reflex.
- CONFIRMED | "The gas just forms on its own once you cut." | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #34(folk-quote-1): An unattributed summary of a misconception, not a verbatim Imai quotation. Imai describes the previous belief as "produced spontaneously following the action of the enzyme alliinase". The source record incorrectly assigns kind=quote.
- CONFIRMED | "It turns into sulfuric acid on your eyeball." | https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/pso/psoh.htm | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #35(folk-quote-2): An unattributed summary, not a verbatim quotation from Bristol. Bristol says a small amount "reacts to form sulfuric acid". The source record incorrectly assigns kind=quote.
- CONFIRMED | For decades that was the textbook story. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #36(textbook-history): Imai describes the prior spontaneous-reaction account; Block 1985 gives the earlier rearrangement account, predating the 2002 correction by decades. This confirms the historical account, not the separate present-day majority claim.
- CONFIRMED | The 2002 discovery of lachrymatory-factor synthase overturned it: with alliinase alone and no LFS, the lachrymatory factor is not produced at all. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #37(alliinase-alone): Imai figure 1 is explicitly titled "Obligatory involvement of the enzyme lachrymatory-factor synthase in the production of lachrymatory factor (LF) in onion".
- CONFIRMED | Crying needs a second, dedicated enzyme [punctuation omitted] which is exactly why a "tearless" onion (LFS silenced, or low-pungency lines) can keep its flavour. | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612; https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23779 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #38(tearless-lines): The restricted "can keep its flavour" is supportable as remaining flavour, not every component unchanged. LFS removal reroutes sulfur; low-pungency lines can also be tearless. Their actual enzyme change differs, as the WRONG low-pungency entry records.
- CONFIRMED | An over-simplification you'll see widely. | https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/pso/psoh.htm; https://food.unl.edu/article/cooking-onions-without-crying/; https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/general-science-you-asked/why-do-onions-make-you-cry-when-you-cut-them-and-why-are-they-sweet-when-you-fry-them | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #39(acid-widespread): The sulfuric-acid eye explanation appears at Bristol, Nebraska Extension and McGill. Nebraska says "converted to sulfuric acid when it comes in contact with water"; McGill says "reacts with moisture there and forms sulphuric acid". These are positive examples of the explanation, not independent proof of its chemistry.
- CONFIRMED | Lachrymatory factor C3H6OS | https://merckindex.rsc.org/monographs/m9186 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #44(lf-formula): Merck Index: "Molecular formula C 3 H 6 OS Molecular weight 90.14". Independent arithmetic: 3(12.011)+6(1.008)+15.999+32.06 = 90.140 g/mol.
- CONFIRMED | Its molar mass 90.14 g/mol | https://merckindex.rsc.org/monographs/m9186 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #45(lf-mass): Merck Index: "Molecular formula C 3 H 6 OS Molecular weight 90.14". Independent arithmetic: 3(12.011)+6(1.008)+15.999+32.06 = 90.140 g/mol.
- CONFIRMED | LFS discovered 2002 (Nature) | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #46(lfs-year): Nature records "Published: 17 October 2002" and calls LFS a "previously undiscovered enzyme".
- CONFIRMED | LFS silenced (RNAi) by up to 1,544× | https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/6107612 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #47(silencing-fold): Eady: "reduced lachrymatory synthase activity by up to 1,544-fold". This is the activity reduction, not a 1,544-fold reduction in LF concentration.
- CONFIRMED | that LFS is required (Imai 2002) | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #54(literature-imai): Imai figure 1 is explicitly titled "Obligatory involvement of the enzyme lachrymatory-factor synthase in the production of lachrymatory factor (LF) in onion".
- CONFIRMED | that Allium sulfur electrophiles act through TRPA1/TRPV1 (Bautista 2005 and related). | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1189336/; https://www.nature.com/articles/nn2056 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #56(literature-bautista): Bautista establishes garlic allicin/DADS effects through TRPA1; the cited "and related" is supported by Salazar for TRPV1 activation by allicin/onion extracts. This generic Allium-electrophile claim does not establish the distinct LF/cysteine claim.
- CONFIRMED | Imai, S. et al. "An onion enzyme that makes the eyes water." Nature 419, 685 (2002). nature.com/articles/419685a | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #59(ref-imai): Nature title, authors, 2002, volume 419 and page 685 match. Online DOI check: "DOI MATCH". The DOI resolves to 10.1038/419685a.
- CONFIRMED | Eady, C. et al. "Silencing onion lachrymatory factor synthase…" Plant Physiol. 147, 2096 (2008). PubMed 18583530 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18583530/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #60(ref-eady): PubMed title and Colin C Eady et al., 2008 Aug, 147(4):2096-106 match the abbreviated reference. Online DOI check: "DOI MATCH" for 10.1104/pp.108.123273.
- CONFIRMED | Bautista, D. M. et al. "Pungent products from garlic activate the sensory ion channel TRPA1." PNAS 102, 12248 (2005). pnas.org | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1189336/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #61(ref-bautista): PMC gives the exact title, Diana M Bautista et al., 2005, 102(34):12248-12252. Online DOI check: "DOI MATCH" for 10.1073/pnas.0505356102.
- CONFIRMED | "Production and characterization of tearless and non-pungent onion." Sci. Rep. 6, 23779 (2016). nature.com/articles/srep23779 | https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23779 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #62(ref-tearless): Nature gives the exact title, Kato et al., Scientific Reports 6, 23779 (2016). Online DOI check: "DOI MATCH" for 10.1038/srep23779.
- CONFIRMED | Cold slows the enzymes that build the tear-gas (Arrhenius) and lowers its vapour pressure (Clausius–Clapeyron). Set the onion to ~4 °C and watch the gauge fall. Both effects are real; the exact size depends on the onion and timing. | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4514.1995.tb00520.x; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #63(remedy-chill): The qualitative chemical rate and volatility mechanisms are supported. Hanum reports positive alliinase activation energy, "16.6 kJ/mol"; Block: "Chilling an onion reduces the volatility of the lacrimatory factor." The page labels its numerical constants illustrative. The source record supplies an incomplete or irrelevant excerpt for some of these entries; see the Source-record review in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/N2-codex.md.
- CONFIRMED | Chill the onion first [punctuation omitted] Strong mechanism. | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4514.1995.tb00520.x; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #64(remedy-grade-chill): The qualitative chemical rate and volatility mechanisms are supported. Hanum reports positive alliinase activation energy, "16.6 kJ/mol"; Block: "Chilling an onion reduces the volatility of the lacrimatory factor." The page labels its numerical constants illustrative. The source record supplies an incomplete or irrelevant excerpt for some of these entries; see the Source-record review in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/N2-codex.md.
- CONFIRMED | Acts on cascade steps 1 & 2a (rate + volatility). | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4514.1995.tb00520.x; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #65(remedy-step-chill): The qualitative chemical rate and volatility mechanisms are supported. Hanum reports positive alliinase activation energy, "16.6 kJ/mol"; Block: "Chilling an onion reduces the volatility of the lacrimatory factor." The page labels its numerical constants illustrative. The source record supplies an incomplete or irrelevant excerpt for some of these entries; see the Source-record review in research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/N2-codex.md.
- CONFIRMED | A clean slice severs cells along one plane; a dull blade crushes and tears, rupturing far more cells and mixing more enzyme with substrate. Fewer ruptured cells → less tear-gas. Mechanism is solid; controlled kitchen data is thin. | https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC12557780/fullTextXML; https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #66(remedy-sharp): NOA: "reduce cell damage" with a sharp knife. The primary cutting study reports "faster or blunter blades significantly increase both the number and energy of ejected droplets" and compression before rupture. This supports the qualitative mechanism, not a measured enzyme-mixing multiplier.
- CONFIRMED | Use a very sharp knife [punctuation omitted] Sound mechanism. | https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC12557780/fullTextXML; https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #67(remedy-grade-sharp): NOA: "reduce cell damage" with a sharp knife. The primary cutting study reports "faster or blunter blades significantly increase both the number and energy of ejected droplets" and compression before rupture. This supports the qualitative mechanism, not a measured enzyme-mixing multiplier.
- CONFIRMED | Acts on the very first step: how much enzyme meets substrate. | https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC12557780/fullTextXML; https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #68(remedy-step-sharp): NOA: "reduce cell damage" with a sharp knife. The primary cutting study reports "faster or blunter blades significantly increase both the number and energy of ejected droplets" and compression before rupture. This supports the qualitative mechanism, not a measured enzyme-mixing multiplier.
- CONFIRMED | The tear-gas only reaches your eye by drifting through the air. Move that air away from your face and the dose at the eye drops sharply. Among the most reliable tricks. | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #69(remedy-fan): As a mechanism, moving contaminated air away reduces exposure. In the cited first-person trial, fan onset was 106 seconds, versus 80 for candle and 86 for chilled onion; goggles prevented agony. This supports a useful fan, without establishing a controlled or universal efficacy ranking.
- CONFIRMED | Fan / open window / extractor [punctuation omitted] Simple physics. | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #70(remedy-grade-fan): As a mechanism, moving contaminated air away reduces exposure. In the cited first-person trial, fan onset was 106 seconds, versus 80 for candle and 86 for chilled onion; goggles prevented agony. This supports a useful fan, without establishing a controlled or universal efficacy ranking.
- CONFIRMED | A sealed barrier between the gas and your cornea is the brute-force fix [punctuation omitted] it works because nothing reaches the sensory nerves. (Contact lenses give only partial, anecdotal cover.) | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #72(remedy-goggles): A genuinely sealed barrier supports the stated mechanism. The first-person trial reports "Swim goggles: No agony!". Contacts are separately qualified as anecdotal, not a guaranteed substitute.
- CONFIRMED | Acts at the eye: blocks the final step entirely. | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/ | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #74(remedy-step-goggles): A genuinely sealed barrier supports the stated mechanism. The first-person trial reports "Swim goggles: No agony!". Contacts are separately qualified as anecdotal, not a guaranteed substitute.
- CONFIRMED | A "tearless" onion (LFS removed) [punctuation omitted] Removes the cause. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #76(remedy-grade-tearless): For the explicitly stated ideal of LFS removed, this removes step 2a, as Imai establishes. It must not be equated with partial RNAi suppression or all low-pungency cultivars.
- CONFIRMED | Removes step 2a [punctuation omitted] the enzyme that makes the tear-gas. | https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #77(remedy-step-tearless): For the explicitly stated ideal of LFS removed, this removes step 2a, as Imai establishes. It must not be equated with partial RNAi suppression or all low-pungency cultivars.
- CONFIRMED | Partly intercepts transport; messy and incomplete. | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19185535_The_Chemistry_of_Garlic_and_Onions | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #80(remedy-step-water): For actual rinsing/contact, Block: "washes the factor away; the factor is water-soluble". This supports partial interception, not simply placing water nearby.
- CONFIRMED | Cut the root end last [punctuation omitted] Folk-supported. | https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #85(remedy-grade-root): A qualified folk-supported hypothesis is consistent with NOA repeating the root-end sulfur claim. The page expressly says "Plausibly" and "weakly evidenced"; no controlled superiority is claimed in these two labels.
- CONFIRMED | Plausibly lowers substrate mixing; weakly evidenced. | https://www.onions-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Inside-Onions-October-2025-FINAL.pdf | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #86(remedy-step-root): A qualified folk-supported hypothesis is consistent with NOA repeating the root-end sulfur claim. The page expressly says "Plausibly" and "weakly evidenced"; no controlled superiority is claimed in these two labels.
- CONFIRMED | Mechanism is solid; controlled kitchen data is thin. | https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/doing-good-science/kitchen-science-evaluating-methods-of-self-defense-against-onions/; https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC12557780/fullTextXML | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #94(sharp-data-thin): The available kitchen trial says each intervention was "tested exactly once" and lacked an untreated control. The newer primary cutting paper measures droplets, not a controlled kitchen tearing outcome. This supports the modest evidence-limit claim.
- CONFIRMED | Contact lenses give only partial, anecdotal cover. | https://www.thekitchn.com/best-way-to-stop-onion-tears-p-134350 | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #96(contacts-partial): The source is explicitly first-person: "usually I wear contact lenses and have no trouble with crying or stinging while cutting onions". This supports anecdotal protection, not a population estimate or guaranteed complete seal.
- CONFIRMED | There, 'cold metal' is really a rate of heat flow, not a temperature | https://annex.exploratorium.edu/xref/exhibits/cold_metal.html | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #111(related-heat): Exploratorium: "The visitor's hand then, is a better indicator of heat flow than of actual temperature." Its exhibit equilibrates the objects at room temperature.
- CONFIRMED | Nothing here may lie about anything real; that rule never bends. | git show 985301e445:WAKE.md | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #115(shared-rule): The pinned project rule says "It must never lie about anything real." This is a rule, not a claim that all pages have passed an audit.
- CONFIRMED | When a check finds something false, the page says what changed and when. | git show 985301e445:assay/README.md | Retained from the Codex N2 source re-read: #117(shared-corrections): README requires a dated "Corrected YYYY-MM-DD" line for WRONG factual claims after re-reading the source. The shared sentence describes that policy, not a claim of completed repairs on this page.

## Findings

- [fixed] X1: Replaced the HTML and frontmatter dek promise with reduced tear-gas and changed flavour chemistry; corrected matching science-verifier comments. Shares the first dated correction with X2-X4. The false unchanged-flavour and dry-eyes guarantees remain in public/tv/lib/narration/batch-13.js:32-33, a shared file excluded from this repair. A board-issued note is needed; no note id has been assigned. Search copies are rebuilt at landing. Its copy in the layer's TV narration (public/tv/lib/narration/batch-13.js) was corrected by the directing instance the same day.
- [fixed] X2: Replaced the plain-description clause in markdown frontmatter and the HTML aw-plain mirror. Shares the first dated correction.
- [fixed] X3: Replaced the HTML meta-description clause. OG, Twitter and JSON-LD descriptions do not contain the false flavour claim and were left unchanged. Shares the first dated correction.
- [fixed] X4: Replaced the markdown body clause and appended the same first dated correction as the HTML.
- [fixed] X5: Set the static tear gauge to 80%, taken from the initialized relative model. MINOR, recorded without a page correction line.
- [fixed] X6: Set the static flavour gauge to 48%, taken from 0.8 x 0.6 x 100 in the initialized model. MINOR, recorded without a page correction line.
- [fixed] X7: Put substrate in cytoplasm and alliinase in the vacuole in the cascade; corrected the compartment comments in the canvas script and science verifier. Added the second dated correction.
- [fixed] X8: Removed the smell-precursor label from pyruvate and ammonia while preserving the reaction and balances. Added the third dated correction.
- [fixed] X9: Limited the remedy-bench gauge promise to remedies represented by model controls. Did not invent numerical effects for other remedies. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X10: Distinguished arithmetic masses and balances from cited molecular, historical and experimental inputs. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X11: Changed both checking descriptions to calculated mass, checked balances and illustrative ratios; identified molecular identities as cited. Removed the positive-mass identity assertion and narrowed the formula-equality assertion. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X13: Replaced the fan's absolute prevention claim with reduced transport toward the eyes; added the fourth dated correction. The 0.30 model factor remains explicitly illustrative.
- [fixed] X14: Changed the remedy label to Sealed goggles. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X15: Separated the complete-LFS-absence OFF model from measured RNAi knockdown and Kato alliinase reduction, including the cascade-step explanation and browser-verifier wording. Added the fifth dated correction shared with X19.
- [fixed] X16: Changed working by running water to cutting under running water in the explanation. The knife-dulling clause remains outside this fix. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X17: Changed the water remedy label from near to under running water. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X18: Removed and enzymes from the root-end concentration assertion, retaining the qualified sulfur-based explanation. MINOR, recorded only.
- [fixed] X19: Replaced zero production with Kato's approximately 7.5-fold lower LF, attributed to reduced alliinase activity, while preserving the reported no-tears observation. Shares the fifth dated correction with X15.

## Not done

The shared TV narration at public/tv/lib/narration/batch-13.js:32-33 still promises unchanged flavour and perfectly dry eyes. X1 remains an open board note; research/assay-line/cited-1014/why-onions-make-you-cry/repair-report.md supplies the NOTE NEEDED paragraph for the directing instance. The shared public/search/index.json and public/search/lex.json copies are rebuilt at landing and need no separate repair. The user forbids edits to shared files and public/search, and forbids film/audio/image rendering or re-encoding. No film or audio asset was inspected or regenerated, so this pass makes no claim about their current spoken content. Other evidence gaps recorded in N2, including the separate knife-dulling assertion, remain outside the directed triage.