10 famous "facts" about our body that only seem to be true

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker refutes stupid misconceptions about the cerebral hemispheres, appendix, sweat and sneezing, replicated by the media.

1. The character is determined by the greater activity of one of the hemispheres

In society, for some reason, it is believed that the warehouse of a person's personality depends on which hemisphere of his brain is more active - left or right. For example, this is trying to explain the propensity to various types of activity: supposedly, mathematicians have better developed left half of the brain, while artists have the right.

But this myth was long ago refuted by experts at the University of Utah. According to their research, in people of a wide variety of specialties, both the right and left hemispheres of the brain are involved in the same way. And there is no evidence that one of them is more active than the second.

2. The appendix is useless

We all know that in our intestines there is an appendix - a vermiform appendix extending from the cecum. Previously, he participated in the digestive process, but over time it lost this function, so now it is rightly called a rudiment.

And many believe that a person does not need him now. Indeed, what is some kind of appendage good for, which can also become inflamed? However, people who say that the appendix is useless simply do not understand the meaning of the word "rudiment" - not in the everyday, but in the scientific sense.

This organ has lost its main importance in the course of evolution, but at the same time it can continue to perform other functions.

For example, the appendix is an important part of the human immune system, helps keep the intestinal flora in order, and is home to some of the beneficial bacteria necessary for the gut to function.

During infancy, the appendix also helps form white blood cells and certain types of antibodies to fight infections. Surgeons use parts of it to repair the urinary tract. Removing your appendix may increase your risk of Parkinson's disease. As you can see, this appendage is actually the right thing.

3. Different parts of the tongue perceive different tastes

This myth originated from the so-called language map, which was compiled by the Harvard psychologist Dirk Hanig based on a German article written in 1901. It said that different areas of the tongue are equipped with different receptors and perceive tastes in different ways: bitter with the base, sweet with the tip, sour and salty with the edges.

But this is not the case. In 1974, University of Pittsburgh researcher Virginia Collings refuted this misconception. Taste buds are scattered throughout the tongue, and you can perceive all tastes in any part of it.

If you don't believe it, try sticking the tip of your tongue into a salt shaker. If the tongue map had anything to do with truth, you would not taste the salt.

4. Fingerprints are absolutely unique

Fingerprints vary greatly from person to person, which is why they are used as evidence in forensics. This was noticed by the Scottish scientist and physician Henry Folds, who in 1888 wrote an article on the unique patterns on our fingertips.

But in fact, one cannot say that the prints are completely unique.

In 2005, Simon Cole, a criminologist at the University of California, Irvine, published a study detailing 22 cases of errors in the history of the American legal system associated with similar fingerprints.

Mike Silverman, a forensic medical expert from the UK, argues that it is impossible to prove the uniqueness of fingerprints and there are people who have identical ones.

5. Clicking joints leads to arthritis

If a person clicks his knuckles all the time, he will certainly have arthritis - this is what others around scare those who like to stretch their hands. But research shows that arthritis and joint clicking are not related in any way and there will be no harm from this activity.

6. Height or length of legs and nose affects penis size

Stories that men with large feet or prominent noses also have impressive dignity are quite common, although such "facts" have also long been refuted.

Studies,,,,, published in the journals BJU International and Human Andrology Urology International, did not reveal a correlation between the size of the legs, nose and the height and length of the penis. So it will not work to determine how big a man's penis is without taking off his pants.

7. When you sneeze, your heart stops for a second

On the Internet you can find such a "fact": supposedly when a person sneezes, his heart stops beating for a moment, and then starts up again. Can you imagine? Every time you get something in your nose, you experience cardiac arrest! No, nothing like that.

The heart briefly loses its rhythm while sneezing.

Intrathoracic pressure at this point increases slightly, and this reduces blood flow. For a moment, the heart slows down a little, then starts beating a little faster to normalize blood pressure, and then returns to its normal rhythm. But it doesn't stop.

8. The human body needs 8 glasses of water a day

A popular thought of all HLS fans: "You need to drink more!" At the same time, for some reason, they call the norm of eight glasses, or 2.5 liters. Supposedly, this is the necessary amount of pure water, which must be consumed per day to be healthy.

This myth may have arisen from the publication of the Food and Nutrition Committee of the United States National Research Council in 1945, which stated that the daily fluid intake for a person is 2.5 liters.

True, in the next sentence it was specified there that a significant part of this water comes from food. You don't eat only dry concentrated foods, do you?

Modern researchers have corrected this figure. Now for men the recommended rate of water is called 3, 7 liters, and for women - 2, 7. It does not matter what you drink - tea, coffee or juices - the liquid received by the body with them is no worse than plain water. Unless, of course, you overuse sugar and caffeine.

The WHO generally recommends not to bother with counting glasses and just drink when you want, and not drink when you don't. That's all.

9. Sweat removes toxins from the body

When we are convinced that we need to consume more fluids, the following argument is often made: drinking helps to sweat, and with sweat, various harmful substances are excreted from the body. But this is not at all the case.

People sweat not in order to remove some muck from the body, but in order to cool down. Sweating is a thermoregulatory mechanism, not a cleaning mechanism. And there is no sweat, no toxins. So don't expect sweating to help you heal faster from colds or recover from poisoning or heavy drinking.

Accordingly, the stories that the bath helps to cleanse not only from the outside, but also from the inside, have no basis.

And yes, drinking plenty of fluids also doesn't help flush out toxins. Studies by Canadian physicians have shown that increased hydration does not have any particular benefit in kidney function.

10. Shaving affects the thickness and rate of hair growth

There is such a misconception: the more often you shave, the thicker and harder the new hair becomes. They also grow faster and become darker.

But this myth was debunked by clinical research back in 1928. Neither the color, nor the thickness, nor the rate of hair growth changes when shaving,. You can shave off the stubble without a doubt, wherever it is located: growing back, the cover will not become thicker.