A Scottish author has become a global social media phenomenon after offering to “taste” people’s names.

Julie McDowell, from Glasgow, announced on Monday that she has a sensory condition that allows her to experience words as a taste.

Synaesthesia, which affects one in 2000 people, causes a crossover of senses that are not normally related.

Julie, who has lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, decided to share her unusual “skill” with the world via social media.

Within 24 hours, the writer and podcaster’s post on Twitter had been seen by six million people – and she had received 15,000 replies to her call-out for names that she would then taste for people.

Her answers to the requests were amazing.

She said Aaron tastes like a stale chocolate bar, Amelia like muesli, Duncan like a smoky bacon crisps burp, Graham like cold stew, Lee like custard, Jesus like Maltesers and Brian like little shreds of coconut.

Other hilarious replies included the revelation that Madison tastes like ear wax with chocolate, Sean like furniture polish, Tommy like a fizzy sweet, Nick like a biscuit dipped in vinegar and Wendy like watered down orange juice.

The deluge of demands prompted the author, who is busy writing a book on nuclear war, to start asking people for donations to support her podcast The Atomic Hobo.

Julie was also asked to appear on Radio 1 and posted: “Presenter Greg James was gutted to learn he is tasteless shortbread with the sugar dusted off.”

She later added on Twitter: “I’m taking synaesthesia requests and just had to break it to someone that her husband is an unsatisfying mashed potato.”